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[thistleknot]

So I have my first hospital finally setup (injured dwarves are fixed up rather quickly now, no matter what the injury).  I'd like to share what/how to go about it for future newbs.

First thing is first.  Ask your Dwarf Liasion/outpost trader for Gypsum Plaster (under powder).  I have not found the right material to make it, and it's important for setting bones later.
  If you have no ore, then also ask for some cheap metal (important for the chain for the traction bench).

Second, you need a Chief Medical Dwarf (n), create one from the Nobles menu.  Enable all labors related to medical (I used Dwarf Therapist for this), disable all hauling and other industry related labors.  It's also best to assign him to burrows that are within your fortress.

Third.  Create a room, and put some beds in it.  Zone (i) it as a hospital.

Fourth.  Create a chain at a metalsmith's forge with some cheap metal.  Then create a Traction Bench at a mechanics workshop.

Fifth, create a chest at a carpenter's shop, and a few buckets (more than one bucket is needed as dwarves use buckets for multiple purposes, one is needed for the ashery and one for the soap maker's shop).

Place the Traction Bench and chest inside the zoned hospital room.

Sixth, now for the hard part.  Soap.
  You're going to need a Butcher's Shop, a Kitchen, an Wood Furnace, an Ashery, and a Soap Maker's shop.
  If you have a hunter.  Ensure he has a quiver (made at a leatherworkers shop), bolts (craftdwarfs shop), and crossbow (bowyer's shop) so he can hunt for you some animals.
  If no hunter is available, you can just butcher an animal (z).
 
  Once the animal is being butchered at the Butchery, make sure you have someone with cooking enabled to render the fat at the kitchen.
  While this is going on, have someone making ash at the wood furnace.
    Once you have ash, have someone make lye from ash at the ashery.

  Once you have all those ingredients, you can make soap at the soap maker's shop.

Seventh.  Create some splints and crutches at the carpenter's shop (has your trader arrived with gypsum plaster yet?)

Eighth.  I forgot to mention.  Cloth.  As I don't really know how to make cloth yet.  I asked for it to be traded.  I imagine it can be done from sheering an animal (Farmer's shop) and looming it into thread (at a loom shop).  However, collecting enough wool from sheering takes a long time and I have no idea how to process plants into thread yet, as all my plants are considered rotten.  However, it is manageable as you usually start with a fair amount of cloth.

Ninth: Update: For more advanced cleaning of wounds (I found I was still getting infections), one might need to setup a completely constructed cistern.  Construct a simple outdoor cistern, which means walls, floors all have to be constructed.  Then setup a screw pump to pump in water, then build a well on top.  Set it as a water source.  This way your dwarves have clean water (untested)

That's it.  You now have a working hospital!

[Sphalerite]

Second, you need a Chief Medical Dwarf (n), create one from the Nobles menu.  Enable all labors related to medical (I used Dwarf Therapist for this), disable all hauling and other industry related labors.  It's also best to assign him to burrows that are within your fortress.

It is recommeded that you first check over the personalities of your dwarves.  You want your Chief Medical Dwarf to love helping people and to act impulsively without thinking things through.  This will increase the chances of your dwarves actually getting medical treatment quickly.

Eighth.  I forgot to mention.  Cloth.  As I don't really know how to make cloth yet.  I asked for it to be traded.  I imagine it can be done from sheering an animal (Farmer's shop) and looming it into thread (at a loom shop).  However, collecting enough wool from sheering takes a long time and I have no idea how to process plants into thread yet, as all my plants are considered rotten.  However, it is manageable as you usually start with a fair amount of cloth.

Cloth is easy.  Grow Pig Tails (or rope reed, if you're farming aboveground).  Process it to thread at a farmer's workshop.  Weave the thread to cloth at a loom.  You can also get cloth from gathering cave spider webs, or from shearing animals from wool, but growing pig tails is usually the easiest way.

[dr_random]

Cloth: I rarely bother in this products, I always got it in abundance from the caravans. What else do you spend the crafts for?
The only cloth I fabricate seriously is the candy stuff cloth.

[NightlinerSGS]

I don't really bother with cloth too, I usually end up killing one or two elven caravans anyway which means an abundance of cloth for some time...

Apart from that, nice tutorial. The only thing that missing is the "Gypsum Plaster DIY" part.

[rhesusmacabre]

You'll need more than just one chest. Six is probably enough to store the default amounts (you can change these with i►H over the zone).

[Keolah]

Fourth.  Create a chain at a metalsmith's forge with some cheap metal.  Then create a Traction Bench at a mechanics workshop.

You don't actually need to use metal chains. Cloth ropes work just as well.

[Gizogin]

You'll need more than just one chest. Six is probably enough to store the default amounts (you can change these with i►H over the zone).

I go with chests and cabinets, personally.  I've never had trouble storing things in four of each.

[Flare]

Second, you need a Chief Medical Dwarf (n), create one from the Nobles menu.  Enable all labors related to medical (I used Dwarf Therapist for this), disable all hauling and other industry related labors.  It's also best to assign him to burrows that are within your fortress.

It is recommeded that you first check over the personalities of your dwarves.  You want your Chief Medical Dwarf to love helping people and to act impulsively without thinking things through.  This will increase the chances of your dwarves actually getting medical treatment quickly.

This is so important, if the dwarf with the best skills doesn't like helping people, it might even be best that you find another dwarf who have no skill whatsoever, that will drop things just to help the people in the hospital.

Also, sometimes traction benches needs to be decontructed in order to release the dwarf.

[Girlinhat]

I always assign the most altruistic dwarf to the job, even if they don't have any skills.  A migrant high master diagnostician is useless if he's going to go for a drink while the patient is spurting blood from the neck.  Your starting 7 are your best bet for picking a doctor, as you can leisurely check them for altruism and then give them doctor skills.

Gypsum can be turned into plaster powder at a kiln by putting it in a bag.

Thread comes from pig tails, rope reeds, silk, or candy as is made at a farmer's workshop or a loom.  It is used for suturing cuts and after-surgery.

Cloth comes from pig tail thread, rope reed thread, or silk thread, and is woven into cloth at a loom.  It is used to dress a wound that's already had stitches.  Dwarves seem to automatically stockpile thread and cloth for the hospital and NOT use the hospital stock for crafting.

Crutches are made from wood or metal, and used when a dwarf has lost the ability to stand.  If it's a temporary injury, such as a broken leg, they will discard the crutch and it can be reclaimed.  If a limb is missing or there's nerve damage, they will quickly become Legendary +5 Crutch Walker and will act like any other dwarf.  If they've failed to get a crutch, a slight re-injury (2 level drop) can cause another hospital visit.

If you don't have any plaster, you can use splints, which seem to work just as well, and are made from wood or metal.

Traction benches are for compound fractures, as often happens on the foot or hand where many bones can get broken and jostled.  A regular table is also important for a hospital, as dwarves perform surgery on tables.  It is unknown if a dwarf will attempt to eat on a table during surgery if a chair is provided.