waverly hills sanitarium louisville kentucky

#Waverly hills sanitarium louisville kentucky trial

On March 19, 1996, a non-profit ecumenical group announced plans to construct the world’s tallest statue of Jesus Christ after purchasing the abandoned Waverly Hills complex. It closed in 1981 when the remaining patients were transferred to Hazelwood Center. In 1963, the former sanatorium reopened as the Woodhaven Geriatrics Center, a rest home for the elderly. 15 In 1962, when Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Hospital closed as a tuberculosis hospital and the remaining patients were transferred to Hazelwood. Waverly Hills, in 1950, had 373 patients, but it had dropped to 293 patients by 1960. 13 The results showed efficacy against tuberculosis.

#Waverly hills sanitarium louisville kentucky trial

11 12 The first randomized trial of streptomycin against pulmonary tuberculosis was carried out between 19 by the MRC Tuberculosis Research Unit and was widely accepted to be the first randomized curative trial. student in a laboratory at Rutgers University as part of a research project funded by Merck and Company. 5 Streptomycin was first isolated in October 1943 by Albert Schatz, a Ph.D. The development of the drug streptomycin led to a dramatic decline of tuberculosis rates and deaths in the United States. Treatment times were shaved in half, from an average of 2oo days to 300 days per patient to an average of 90 days. 9 Later, pneumothorax treatments were developed that allowed the partial or complete collapse of a lung by the introduction of air into the pleural cavity, giving the lung a chance to rest and heal. Initial treatment for tuberculosis included fresh air daily, a diet high in ascorbic acid, vitamin A, and protein, and bed rest. 6 7 8 On average, 2,000 died from the disease each year. Tuberculosis, by 1938, was the leading cause of death in Kentucky, and the state had the highest death rate in the nation, partly because of a lack of facilities, a lack of consistent statewide funding for treatment, and a lack of long-term care options. 4 It opened on October 17, 1926, and featured separate patient rooms, sunrooms, modern laboratories, and recreational spaces with room for up to 400 patients. Waverly Hills was already grossly overcrowded with 140 patients.Ĭonstruction of a new 180,000 square-foot, four-story facility began in March 1924. 1 By the early 1910s, with the spread of tuberculosis approaching epidemic proportions, the need for a larger, more permanent building was warranted. Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Hospital was constructed between 1908 and July 26, 1910, when it opened in a wood-framed, two-story building designed for 40 to 50 patients.