John Guiner, who was 26 years old and a native of Ireland was convicted in Erie county, NY in October 1846 of Grand Larceny and sent to Auburn for four years and six months. This prisoner was badly affected by scrofula and was pardoned the 16^thinst to go directly to the office of Dr. Russ, who made an application to the Commissioner of the Alms House to be admitted to a hospital. Guiner was admitted to Bellevue Hospital after saying he contracted this disease in consequences of confinement in a damp cell and that he was in good health when he entered the prison.

Bellevue Hospital was one of the only hospitals during this time period that accepted everyone no matter what their background was. It was located in New York, New York. Pope goes on to say

The dear old gray pile we call Bellevue, whose gates are always open to every ambulance and whose nine hundred beds are often supplemented with cots to afford shelter to the sick and needy. Other Hospitals pick and choose, Bellevue receives all! (Pope, 291).

Bellevue Hospital also didn’t charge people when coming in, which means John Guiner didn’t have to pay when he was admitted for scrofula. Although it seems like Bellevue was a great hospital back then, Heaton states

The medical profession, as well as politicians, legislators, and administrators, showed increasing concern over matters of public health as the public clamor increased for improvement in sanitary conditions (Heaton, 525).

Throughout the years the people involved with Bellevue Hospital grown concerned with accepting everyone in their hospital for sanitary reasons. Along with the Alms House, many people who were incarcerated during the nineteenth century and fell ill were sent to the Bellevue hospital because of how accommodating it was and its open-door policy. It was ideal for people coming out of prison who had grown ill because usually they came out of prison with no money and limited resources for help. 

Sources: 

Heaton, Claude. “Three Hundred Years of Medicine In New York City.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine,Volume 32 (The John Hopkins University Press), 517-530. 

Pope, Georgina. “Bellevue Hospital, Past and Present (Concluded).” The American Journal of Nursing,Volume 5 (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins), 291-296.