In terms of power, hospitals during the time of the Civil War were very powerful. They had a lot of influential power. The bad conditions of hospitals at the beginning of the Civil War prompted the United Stares Sanitary Condition to be established for the improvement of all hospitals. Also, because of the poor condition of hospitals, soldiers tried to stay away from them and learn to medically treat themselves and others.
During the Civil War, Clara Barton founded The Red Cross, a historical act that forever changed hospitals. She and many other women were fed up with the poor treatment soldiers were getting in hospitals, and set out to change it with a medical organization called The Red Cross, which is still in existence today. She was only one person who had the power to change a nation.
Another way that the influential power of hospitals was used was at some hospitals designated for Union and Confederate soldiers. Since there was limited staff, doctors would have to choose which patients to treat. Some of the doctors were from the Union and some were from the Confederate. So depending on which doctors were there, different patients would get treated.
This power didn't really influence the outcome of the war, but it did have a significant impact on society today. Because of the number of casualties of the Civil War, the government put more effort into development of medical treatment in America. This effect is reflected in our society today by the outstanding medical services we have. From DNA to heart transplants, it is all because of the hospitals that existed during the Civil War that had the influential power to encourage change.