The Babies’ Hospital in Philadelphia, designed by Carl A. Ziegler, was a small specialized hospital that maximized vertical circulation as a means of facilitating the admission and treatment process. Patients, and their parents, moved through the building like a car down an assembly line, but, given the danger of cross-infections, with extensive attention to keeping individual patients isolated from each other.
Prospective patients waited for the doctor in one of 36, 3’x3′ ‘stalls’ with 6′ partition walls. From that first floor admission waiting room babies exhibiting any sign of contagious disease were sent to the basement isolation rooms and from there (if they proved an active case) straight out the basement door to a municipal isolation facility. Babies that had non-contagious ailments were admitted to a ‘steel booth’ (examination room). Babies that could be treated and sent home were led by a social worker to a demonstration room, where the mother had to show she understood the doctor’s prescription and how to administer it before release. Babies that required inpatient care were sent to the sixth floor, which held eight 8’square cubicles, each with its own crib, bath, wardrobe, and balcony. According to John Diven, visiting was discouraged–the parents being allowed one hour a week. The roof was a play area.
Carl A. Ziegler “The Babies’ Hospital of Philadelphia,” American Architect 123: 2412, 31 Jan 1923, 93-98
John Diven “The New Building of the Babies’ Hospital of Philadelphia,” Modern Hospital 18:2, Feb. 1922, 115-122