In the room

Johanna was not alone. On this page of the registry not only Johanna van der Meiden is registered, but also other patients. It is difficult to find out why these women were in hospital. But a page like this gives us some information.

For example, half of the women are marked with the "V". As in the case of a namesake: Johanna Maria Castignola. Between 1851 and 1869, she was admitted to the hospital more than 10 times.Amidst the Dutch names there are few names of foreign origin. Her father was Josephus Castignola, an organ player from Piacença, Italy. He married Anna Maria Raatsing in Rotterdam in 1848. After some time they moved to Amsterdam. There they lived together with their 10 children at 781 Palmstraat. Johanna Maria was their oldest daughter. Both Johanna's were admitted here in 1869 and lay in the ward.

Among the beds stood the nurses, who cared for the patients. The nursing profession became officially recognized around 1875 and gained in status, mainly under the influence of the famous British nurseFlorence Nightingale. As is visible in the attached photo, there is a clipboard hanging from each krebbe containing information about the patient. In the center of the room, we see the doctor and a nurse sitting at a table with several bottles of medicine. On a table behind them are some plants. The room is sober and quiet. Patients could rest and be cared for there. The motto of this type of hospital was: Rest, Cleanliness, and Regularity.

Whether Johanna's health improved much in the hospital remains to be seen. The conditions in the Binnengasthuis were far from what is expected of a hospital nowadays. In any case, it was better than being at the mercy of quacks. Yet the care was very different from today. Although there was an increasing focus on regulation and hygiene, it still remained a place where many people were not cured. But for someone who led a wandering existence like Johanna, this was probably the best place to be treated. She was given food and a roof over her head.

If you want to know a little more about the not-so-great aspects of care at the Binnengasthuis back then, read on.