• Gibbons RW

• Chiropractic / history
• History, Modern 1601-
• Hospitals / history / United States
• Internship and Residency
• Spears Chiropractic Hospital
• Spears Chiropractic Sanitarium and Hospital

The dominance of American medicine over health care facilities was virtually completed by mid-20th century with the control of institutional services.  Termination of small private hospitals virtually ended the experience in chiropractic hospitalization, which existed in many states through 1960. Little-known access by chiropractors to ‘regular’ hospitals in California and other in-patient roles are explored in this study of the chiropractic hospital movement.

For much of half a century, there were various hospitalization opportunities for chiropractic patients, with in-patient facilities operated in some twenty states.  Many of these were modest institutional efforts with fewer than a dozen beds.  Exceptional activities, such as Spears Hospital in Denver, Colorado, represented as many as 800 beds, with extensive pediatric, geriatric, rehabilitative and other units.  The particular problems of specialized nursing services, staff, nutrition, administration, insurance reimbursement and often hostile licensing agencies and health boards are discussed.

Pictures of interns and residents circa 1919 Oklahoma City, and Spears Hospital, Denver, circa 1955; DD. Palmer Building, 1949, Chiropractic Sanitarium,  St. John, Kansas.

Paper delivered before the third Conference on Chiropractic History, National College of Chiropractic, Lombard, Ill., June 4, 1983.

This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher.  Full text is available by subscription.