A HISTORY OF HOSPITALS AND SHELTERS FOR THE SICK 69
Conclusion
Through the period of a century and a half, the North American continent was settled by descendants of Europeans, Asians, and Africans, adding to the light concentrations of Native Americans and the Spanish in California. Modern cities were started. Travel became less hazardous. Environ ments changed. In the City of Sacramento, levees and downtown streets were raised, the American River diverted and foothill dams constructed to hold back excess rain and melting snow. Floods, as well as mosquitoes, were controlled. Immunizations, the use of “miracle drugs,” and the develop ment of technologies eliminated the old epidemics. Morbidity and mortality statistics improved dramatically and life spans grew longer. The primitive establishments of disease and death had evolved into hospitals of health and new life.
