Construction of the William J. Syms Operating Theatre was facilitated by the theatre’s namesake, a gun-dealing millionaire who, upon his death in 1889, bequeathed $350,000 to Roosevelt Hospital with the stipulation that the money be put toward the construction and operations of a surgical operating theatre with Dr. Charles McBurney as its director.
威廉-杰-西姆(William J. Syms)手术展示厅的建造由一位经营枪支的同名百万富翁资助。他于1889年去世的时候,给罗斯福医院捐赠了35万美元,条件是,该笔经费必须用于手术展示厅的建造和日常开销,手术展示厅必须由查理-麦克伯尼医生做主管。
Dr. McBurney had presided over an operation on Syms some years earlier. Following the surgery, the surgeon received a check from Mr. Syms to the tune of $3,000 as payment for the $300 procedure. McBurney returned the money only to be repaid tenfold following the eventual death of his grateful patient.
多年前,查理-麦克伯尼医生曾主持过西姆的手术。手术后,这位开刀医生从西姆先生那里收到了一张总额达3000美元的支票,用以支付300美元的手术费。麦克伯尼把支票退了回去,没想到,在他那位感激涕零的病人最终死去的时候,他又收到了总额10倍于所退支票的捐款。