314 Comments Posted by Claudia

I have not seen a "table" on a track like that. The tracks that I am familiar with are on the ceiling and they move to position the patient in the correct way. Looks like the ceiling was inadequate for the weight of the x-ray equipment so they placed the "table" on a track. Many times expensive equipment has been depreciated and has no value left for the accountants to work with, so they just leave it. The cost of shipping this equipment would be very high, but it would seem like some group should step up and do that rather than see it rust out and end up in a trash heap.

Morgues are usually attached to the lab. There are many times during the day that the staff is not in the morgue. So if a funeral home comes to pick up a body they have to get the attention of the staff. Thus the morgue alarm. Kind of a crazy name for it since it is just a doorbell..............

My hubby who services Dental equipment for a living says this unit is from the 50's. The color is "cream white". Several things have been done to it to update it. It has been converted to an air driven drill rather then a belt driven one which it was originally. The acorn appearing structure with the different color in the middle of the 2 acorn caps is what drove the belt. The arm that the top part of the belt connected to has been removed. The belt driven drills are the ones that make all the noise. The suction has been updated. You can see the opaque plastic container connedted to the upright arm. He says that he has actually worked on units like this.

The device in the foreground that is partly hidden opened by using a foot pedal. There was an area on the door that the bedpan sat in. You closed the door and flushed. This couid be repeated until the bedpan was clean. Some of these also produced steam for an attempt to kill germs on the old stainless steel bedpans. When bedpans became plastic and disposible there hoppers were no longer needed. If the bedpan was a REAL mess you just tossed it and got another one.

For starters it would not be a sink for surgical scrubbing. They have a knee gatch that you uae to turn the water on and off. The item in the cupboard is a "mixing" valve. You can set the desired water temp and the device maintains the temp. Handy to have in areas where the water has to be a certain temp.
It reminds me of the tubs that were used to bathe handicapped children., in a long term care facility for multi-handicapped children.
I was there for a rotation during nursing school.

My husband services dental equipment. We had a similar chair in our family room. It was newer than the one here and a much brighter color. Orange!! After about 18 months he sold it to a Dr who had it reupholstered. Paid us 1800.00 and paid for the upholstery and was still ahead on the cost of a new one. Chairs have lots of electronics which makes them very expensive.

Thank you for this shot. I was hoping for a close up of the curtain. The colors are amazing. This group of pics are my all time favorite.

Right upper corner......access to some left over space? Attic or air return?

When was this place abandoned? The beds look ancient. And I can't even remember when mattresses were stuffed with horsehair. These beds would have been torture to a nurse's back. Great picture Motts as always. Thanks for exploring the places I will never see.

In thr late 60's and early 70's this item was the first respirators that we put on patients in the ER. It was mounted on an aluminum pole with wheels and was called a "bird" respirator. Since it was originally designed as anethesia device there were several paramiters that could not be refined. So it served as a temporary device until a full fledged respirator showed up. Interesting to see one again.

Room air is 21% oxygen, The other 79% is made up of many different gases. Humans produce carbon dioxide when they breath.
If to much oxygen is in your system you will pass out until the Baro receptiors pick up the increased concentration of carbon dioxide and cause you to breath again. This is what happens when people hyperventilate. This is a fairly old type of anesthesia machine. Interesting to see it.
Thanks for the great pics.

I live in a part of OH that includes the docks in Cleveland with the large loaders. These loaders are right on the coast and like this plant have been unused since the steel industry left town. There has been a big fight over tearing them down. I wish I could remember the name, because they are the only remaining ones in the Great Lakes.
I also went to college in Youngstown OH another town that has been destroyed by the steel companies leaving. Youngstown has a rough reputation at this time. Even the Mob has left and it is over run with gang violence. Say what you might about the Mob but these problems weren taken care of by the Mob bosses. Sure is sad to see the destruciton of homes, roads, neighborhoods that the lack of jobs has caused. These pictures reminded me of the sadness in the areas effected by this abandonment. Thanks for the social commentary Motts. Love your pictures.

Maybe a monument to the medical workers. It looks like a rolled up stretcher in his left hand. Of course the right hand looks to he holding an item that may be a gun.

Maybe it was done to hide what was going on in the room. Paint the windows.....much cheaper than putting up new doors. Also much faster.