At the Saranac Laboratory Museum we are often asked how patients paid for their tuberculosis treatment, which brings up the story of another amazing woman in Saranac Lake history! Mary Prescott was an heiress from Massachusetts who came to cure in 1895. After curing, she stayed in Saranac Lake and made it her mission to help poor patients in need of treatment. Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau advised her in this work, and in 1905, she opened the Reception Hospital at the end of Franklin Avenue. In 1925, it handled nearly 100 patients, and Prescott covered the deficit with her own funds. (Photo provided — Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2021.3.14. Gift of the Florence Wright Tuberculosis Postcard Collection.)