The old infirmary’s earlier lives

8  Narrative Undercliff Undercliff,  the  sanatorium  at  Meriden  intended  for children  afflicted  with  pulmonary  tuberculosis  is  the  second in  size  of  the  State's  sanatoria.  It  contains  220  beds.  The importance  of  discovering  and  treating  the  tuberculosis  of children  becomes  more  and  more  important  every  year. Also  every  year,  the  difficulty  of  making  early  diagnosis of  pulmonary  tuberculosis  in  children  becomes  more  and more  apparent  to  the  most  skillful  of  experts.  The  micro- scope may  give  only  negative  evidence;  the  X-ray  pictures may  show  nothing,  or  they  may  show  shadows  that  conflict with  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  listening  ear  of  the  exam- iner; the  general  physical  condition  of  the  little  suspect may  belie  some  or  all  of  the  indictment  afforded  by  the X-rays,  or  by  the  child's  history  or  environment.  Never- theless, it  is  essential  that  if  the  child  has  tuberculosis,  it should  be  treated,  and  if  it  does  not  have  tuberculosis,  it should  not  be  kept  in  a  tuberculosis  sanatorium.  We  are fortunate  in  having  on  the  staff  of  the  sanatorium  at Meriden,  physicians  who  thoroughly  appreciate  the  diag- nostic and  other  problems  that  every  patient  in  the institution  brings  to  them,  and  who  are  keen  and  diligent in  the  study  of  these  problems. In  the  days  of  the  stage-coach,  the  present  infirmary building  at  Undercliff  was  a  well  known  road  house.  When the  railroads  ended  the  stage-coach  era,  the  old  building became  the  almshouse  of  Meriden.  After  Meriden  grew ashamed  and  built  its  present  brick  building  to  house  the town  paupers,  the  State  took  over  the  shambling  old hostelry  in  order  to  begin  with  it,  the  projected  campaign against  tuberculosis.  For  several  years,  under  the  super- intendency  of  the  late  Dr.  James  B.  Dinnan  it  served  the purpose  for  which  it  was  bought.  Its  verandas  and  its little  indoor  cubicles,  at  one  time  housed  nearly  100  tuber- culous adults.  Since  1918,  when  Undercliff  was  transformed into  an  institution  for  children  only,  this  old  infirmary building  has  been  constantly  in  use.  On  its  three  creaking floors  have  been  the  beds  of  fifty  of  the  sicker  children, the  administration  offices,  the  quarters  of  the  family  of  one of  the  assistant  physicians,  and  the  rooms  of  a  dozen  or more  of  the  male  servants.  To  make  possible  this  long- continued  use  of  the  old  fire-trap,  we  have  been  obhged  to brace  its  foundation,  to  bolster  its  walls,  to  relay  its  floors, and  of  course,  to  frequently  repaint,  replaster,  and  reroof it.  Its  age  and  its  skeletal  crumbling  have  been  pretty  well camouflaged,  but  now  we  have  decided  that  it  ought  to  be