(Source of image: Florida State Archives)

This photo evokes images of the cramped steerage accommodations for many American immigrants.  These crowded sleeping quarters were onboard the hospital ship Hinds while it visited Jacksonville.  Was the young lady in the socks feeling blue, or did she just not want her picture taken?  (Or both?) 

The Hinds provided a capacity for 500 beds, yet its doctors had to turn down cases.  According to the State Board of Health's Annual Report of 1946, "This facility... had its limitations, and it was necessary to restrict admissions on many occasions because of inadequate space.  As this goes to press, the State Board of Health is still searching for a suitable, modern facility to provide adequate treatment for all those in need of intensive therapy."

On August 20, 1946, the Florida Times-Union reported that, during July, more patients had been treated aboard the Hinds than had been handled in any one month at all four of the VD treatment centers replaced by the ship.  The vessel's medical personnel treated 990 patients onboard in July, and 365 patients remained on the Hinds by the last day of the month. 

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