The Eloise Tuberculosis Sanitorium was erected in 1911 in a field south of the County House between Michigan Avenue and the Michigan Central Railroad tracks.

The Development of the Tuberculosis Hospital

In 1903, with the considerable increase in the number of inmates with tuberculosis, it was recommended that these patients be seperated from the general inmate population; and the Governing Board considered the erection of a canvas hospital. Consequently, in 1903 two tents were erected – one for men and one for women – along the east side of the east wing of the County House. A brick foundation was laid; the framework and tents were constructed; and the canvas hospital was occupied the following September at a cost of $954, with a capacity of 24 patients.

The tents did well for a time; but within a few years, the number of tubercular patients had increased to the point that it was impossible to care for them in the tents. The Superintendent, in 1909, requested an appropriation for a tubercular hospital. An appropriation was allowed; and the building was contructed first with a central portion, with the idea of adding “shacks” at the sides in the coming year. The site was a field south of the County House located between the highway and the Michigan Central Railroad. This unit of the Institution became known as the “Eloise Sanitorium.”

The center building consisted of a frame 60 feet deep, 38 feet wide, and two stories high. The ground floor contained two reception rooms, two dining rooms, and a kitchen. The building also had its own low-pressure boiler for heating the building. In 1910 the shacks were permanently completed as additions to the central building. The latter were designed to contain 48 beds.

As stated by Dr. Dutlitz in his report to the Board of Auditors in 1911, “The erection of this hospital was the answer to the public call.” He stated that physicians were practically unanimous in recommending open-air treatment for tuberculosis of the lungs and that this type of treatment was in accordance with that of other recognized hospitals. However, the care of such patients was a major problem since, as Dr. Dutlitz stated, Eloise was confronted with conditions unknown in most hospitals. The incoming patients were in the last stage of consumption and were sent to Eloise when their personal funds were exhausted; nothing was left but the Poorhouse for them. Eloise continued to operate the tuberculosis hospital until the State of Michigan and the City of Detroit began providing facilities for the adequate care of this type of patient; and the operation was phased out on Novermber, 28, 1923.

[ This information presented in whole from “A History of the Wayne County Infirmary, Psychiatric, and General Hospital Complex at Eloise, Michigan” by Alvin C. Clark; page 17. ]