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The original Board of Managers decided to refuse admission to
three types of patients:
Those wishing admittance to the hospital also had to be sponsored
by two tax-paying citizens in order to provide "burial or
travel deposits to idemnify the hospital, either from the expense
of burial in case they die, or to defray the expense of carrying
them back to their place of abode, that they may not become a
charge to the city."
Local authorities and philanthropists, as well as members of
the Board of Managers and hospital staff members, often provided
the funds the patients needed for admission. The rules were set
because Quakers made a distinction between the poor who would
work but couldn't, and the poor who could work but wouldn't.
This way, the predominantly Quaker Board of Managers felt the
hospital would be protected from treating people they considered
malingerers.
The patients also had to adhere to strict rules, including:
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Hospital's Past
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