Wikimedia CommonsPhysicians examining children at Ellis Island.Between 1892 and 1954, some 12 million immigrants to the United States passed through Ellis Island in New York Harbor. But a medical inspection upon their arrival could decide their fate and many ended up spending time at the Ellis Island Hospital. Those who arrived in America sick or injured were pulled from the inspection line, and thousands were sent to the hospital for treatment. But some were deemed too sick or disabled to continue on to the United States, and others simply couldnt afford a hospital stay. As such, the Ellis Island Hospital could be a place of a heartbreak, as well as of healing. This is the full story of the Ellis Island Hospital, the medical facility that once processed thousands of immigrants, but stands abandoned today.The Medical Inspection at Ellis IslandMedical inspections began as soon as immigrants arrived at Ellis Island. As PBS reported in 2014, immigrants had to carry their bags from the dock where theyd arrived to the main building. If anyone stopped to catch their breath, inspectors pulled them from the line to check for heart disease.In 1892, just six physicians inspected the 200,000 immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island. A decade later, eight physicians inspected 500,000 immigrants, and by 1905, 16 doctors examined 900,000 immigrants. Library of CongressImmigrants arriving at Ellis Island in 1915. As soon as they arrived, physicians began to examine them for signs of disease.Next, as immigrants filed through the Great Hall, physicians scanned the lines. They looked out for limps, poor posture, or signs of muscular weakness, as well as facial defects or goiters. Immigrants were also subjected to a battery of tests. A vision test sought to detect those with sight issues. A nail and skin inspection looked for ringworm or other fungal infections. A stethoscope caught heart and lung problems. And anyone who failed to follow directions including immigrants who spoke little or no English underwent a mental inspection. Finally, a physician checked eyelids for signs of trachoma, an infection that left three in four blind. This was sometimes done by using a buttonhook to inspect the inner eyelid. Other doctors flipped the eyelid with their finger.Library of CongressMedical inspectors looked for signs of mental or physical issues. Those who were found to have a disease were marked with chalk (C noted a suspected eye condition, S meant senility, and X insanity). And roughly 15 to 20 percent of these, according to a 2008 article in the AMA Journal of Ethics, were subjected to further examinations. Afterwards, some sick immigrants were sent to Ellis Island Hospital for treatment. But not all. Those who were determined to have severe mental or physical disabilities were deported. As were those who could not afford treatment, unless their friends and family were able to post a bond. Life Inside Ellis Island HospitalEllis Island Hospital opened at the same time as Ellis Island itself, but both the main immigrant processing building and the original hospital burned down in 1897. Afterward, a new hospital was built, which opened in 1902. New York Public LibraryFirst opened in 1902, Ellis Island Hospital grew from a single structure to a complex of 23 buildings.By 1911, the hospital had 23 buildings. In addition to its main hospital, it had a contagious disease hospital, a psychiatric unit, a morgue, administrative buildings, and staff quarters. The hospital itself had 750 beds, and treated patients for a variety of disease, including measles, diphtheria, tuberculosis, trachoma, scarlet fever, and more. It also set broken bones, delivered almost 400 babies, and oversaw the deaths of roughly 4,000 immigrants.Nurses at Ellis Island Hospital worked six days a week in 11 hour shifts. They and unmarried doctors often lived on the hospital grounds, which frequently bustled with the activity of a small village. According to CNN in 2016, the kitchen staff cooked 1,500 meals a day, and the laundry staff cleaned 3,000 pieces of hospital linens a day.National Park ServiceMost of the nurses at Ellis Island Hospital lived on the island, where they also worked long hours. But what was Ellis Island Hospital like for immigrants? For many, it was a mix of fear and hope. Though just one percent of sick immigrants were sent back to their native lands, stories of those deportations were well-known to those who passed through Ellis Island. Whats more, many immigrants, especially children, had to endure a difficult separation from their families. I was very frightened and I was very, very upset not to be with my mother, Flora Greenwald, an immigrant from Poland, remarked of her stay at Ellis Island Hospital in 1922, according to the Forgotten Ellis Island documentary. In the same documentary, John Henry Wilberding, an immigrant from Germany, remarked of his stay 1928, To those who went through it, it was one of the most precious gifts you were given, because when you were sick you couldnt do anything about it. But here is a place that rescued you.According to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Foundation, immigration to Ellis Island hit its peak in 1907, when the facility processed one million immigrants. But anti-immigration sentiments were growing as well. The Closure Of Ellis Island Hospital And The State Of The Building TodayPublic DomainEllis Island Hospital as seen from above, circa 1933.Almost as soon as Ellis Island opened, anti-immigrant, nativist sentiment in the United States began to spread. A number of laws, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Alien Contract Labor Law, and the National Origins Act, as well as quota laws which limited immigration from certain countries, were passed, causing a decline of immigration to the United States. During World War I, immigration to the country decreased even more. After the war, the opening of embassies around the world made Ellis Island less necessary. Though it continued to operate, the only immigrants who passed through Ellis Island were refugees, those who had problems with their paperwork, or those suffering from contagious diseases. Then, in the 1950s, Ellis Island and Ellis Island Hospital closed for good. But both structures still stand today. That said, though the main Ellis Island building opened as the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration in 1990, the Ellis Island Hospital is still abandoned.Wikimedia CommonsClosed in 1951, Ellis Island Hospital is abandoned today. But though it was closed to the public for 60 years, visitors can explore Ellis Island Hospital today on hard hat tours. With a guide, theyre free to wander through the hospital buildings, where some 276,000 patients were treated between 1892 and 1951.The facility is empty, though photos throughout the former hospital show what it looked like at its peak. But its easy to imagine how it felt to be a patient at Ellis Island Hospital, with New York City and the United States glimmering just across the water. Ellis Island Hospital was the final stop for some immigrants. Next, check out this collection of images of Ellis Island immigrants, and then learn about Annie Moore, the first immigrant at Ellis Island. The post Inside Ellis Island Hospital, The Medical Facility That Once Treated Hundreds Of Thousands Of Hopeful Immigrants appeared first on All That's Interesting.