Evening Star Newspaper, November 28, 1937, Page 5

Physicians Defend Gallinger, But Admit Many W eaknesses Staff and Equipment Declared Excellent, but There Are Shortages in Person- nel, Space and Apparatus. While admitting shortage of per- sonnel, space and apparatus at Gal- linger Municipal Hospital, physicians associated with the institution feel that sensationalized reports of its problems may confuse and injure the indigent sick, who have sought and received excellent medical care at Gallinger. The following letters, received by The Star, are typical of efforts of the doctors to clarify the situation: To the Editor of The Star: “I heartily agree with some of the statements that have appeared re- cently in the newspapers concerning Gallinger Municipal Hospital. The superintendent and the executive staff of that institution have realized for years that personnel, space, apparatus and instruments have been woefully inadequate. A strong appeal has been made each year to Congress for a suf- ficient appropriation to remedy these shortcomings, brought about largely by the rapid growth of the hospital. Cites Good Features. “In order that the public should not be misled, however, it might be well to at least mention some of the good features of the conditions prevailing at the hospital. Having been cog- nizant of the state of the hospital from close personal contact since 1919, T can state without fear of contradic- tion that the quality (not the quan- tity) of nursing care, the type of phy- sical equipment and the standard of medical care have constantly been improved, and especially under the able administration of Dr. Bocock, to the point where they rank with those of the best hospitals of the District of Columbia, and I believe in some respects even higher. Most people Go not know that the visiting staff of the hospital is composed of some 135 prac- ticing physicians of Washington, many of them eminent members of the medical profession and all members of the faculties of medicine of George- town and George Washington Univer- sities, who serve the hospital without monetary remuneration, even for transportation expenses. During the month of October, 1937, the visiting physicians made 293 visits to the hos- pital in the departments of general medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology alone, each visit involving & period of service of from one to six | hours. The physicians work accord- | ing to a schedule and sign the roster | at each visit. There was not a smgl?i\ failure to make the required visits o | the hospital during that month, and | such perfect records are not unusual. “Besides the full-time special medi- | eal staff in psychiatry, the laboratory and the X-ray department there are approximately 50 full-time internes and residents, many of whom are men | serving their second, third and fourth years of hospital residency after grad- uation from medical school. These internes and residents are all selected with great care and on the whole con- | stitute as fine a group of young medi- | cal men and women as may be found in one institution anywhere in the world. Recent attacks regarding their conduct are wholly unjustified. | Sees Blow at Socialized Medicine. “Recent propaganda for socialized | medicine should receive a severe set- | back if all of the criticisms of Gal-| linger Municipal Hospital regarding | shortcomings due to lack of funds are true, especialy when one remembers that those funds do not include pay ment for most of the professional serv ices rendered. If the Goverment can- | not do a better job of caring for the | medically indigent sick, who all agree are wards of the state, what may be expected if the Government should undertake to care for all of the sick? “In spite of such shortcomings as were admitted in the beginning of this communication, I personally should not hesitate to become a pa tient in the Gallinger Municipal Hos- pital under the care of the present underpaid resident and_the wholly unpaid visiting staff. (Signed.) “WALLACE M. YATER, “A.B,M.D.M.S.F.A.C.P.; “Professor of Medicine, George- town University School of Medicine; physician in chief, Georgetown Uni- versity and Gallinger Municipal Hospitals.” Regrets Attacks on Hospital. ‘To the Editor of The Star: “As a long-time member of the visiting staff at Gallinger Hospital, I greatly regret the attacks on that in- | stitution now appearing in the public press of this city. It is to be sup- | posed that we who have given so freely | of our time and energy toward the | building up and carrying on of that institution would know its shortcom- | ings as well as does the casual ob- | server. We do know that much re-| mains to be done, but we have seen | Gallinger Hospital develop from the | Washington Asylum Hospital to one of the better municipal hospitals of | this country. And then to see it| wantonly attacked, for mere sensn-{ tionalism, arouses all the resentment in one’s make-up. “I have not seen the attack on the integrity of the resident staff, said to be in one of the papers Friday. If what I hear of that attack—L under- stand it is quoted from some report— is approximately correct, it is grossly unfair, and even its repetition is grossly unfair, to those young men. “Many of the young men on the resident staff are former students of mine, and I know them well. I know that there is no group of young men of higher moral standing, in the medi- | cal profession or in any other walk | of life, than are the members of the | resident staff of Gallinger Hospital. “No good can come from such mud- slinging and muckraking; and the indigent sick, who have come to Underwood and Royal Portables $ee AWEEX CAPITOL ™3™ 822 13th St. NA, COMPLETE WITH CARRYING CASE AND INSTRUCTION 800K realize the excellent medical care they receive at Gallinger Hospital, are the only ones who are confused and in- Jured by it g “Yours very truly, (Signed) “Eugene R. Whitmore, M. D., “Head, Dept. of Pathology and Radi- ology, Gallinger Hospital.” Survey Made by Dr. White. The following letter was sent to Dr. Edgar A. Bocock, superintendent of Gallinger, last Monday by the head of the Department of Surgery of the hospital: “Dear Dr. Bocock— “Pursuant to your request for a survey of the surgical division of Gallinger Municipal Hospital, particu- larly in reference to defective and shortage of instruments, operating Troom management and several minor items, I addressed a letter to each member of the surgical staff, 59 in all. My letter read as follows: “Dear Dr.—: “I am making a survey of the De- partment of Surgery of Gallinger Municipal Hospital and am asking you, as a member of the surgical staff, to send me as promptly as possible a constructive criticism of our depart- | ment. I should like it to touch any | and all phases of the work, including physical equipment, personnel, tech- nique, professional administration, or any other item you feel qualified to discuss. You are not limited in any way and you are at liberty to be as frank as you desire, with the assurance that the criticism or suggestion will be treated as a means to increase the efficiency and smooth administration of the department. “If there are any features in the surgical service that, in your opinion, are worthy of commendation, it would be desirable to note them. “Very truly yours, “CHAS. S. WHITE, M. D, “Head of Department of Surgery, “‘Gallinger Municipal Hospital. “P. S—A very prompt reply will be | appreciated.” 24 Replies Received. “Twenty-four replies have been re- ceived and accompany this report. I| have carefully read each letter several times, and desire to express my de- duction for your information only. “There was but a single complaint regarding the condition of the instru- ments and only one or two requests for additional ones. On the other hand, especial mention of the adequate sup- plv of instruments was noted in more than one reply. Other complaints were somewhat indefinite and to be corrected, involved enlarging or re- | constructing portions of the hospital, to changing the enture of the interne- ship and otehr matters of an adminis- | trative character that are certainly | not involved in the professional con- | duct of the institution. | “On the whole, the replies, if they | carried any message at all. were to the | effect that the hospital is understaffed, | from a nursing point, and that the institution has not the physical capac- ; ity to handle the work in an unhurried ! and orderly manner. This is not news, | All other complaints are of such a | trivial nature they do not require serious consideration. { “It will be noted throughout the | replies that reference is made repe; t-| edly to the excellent co-operation that is accorded the staff by every employe | of the institution. I do not know of a similar institution in this city where | there exists such a wholesome esprit | de corps and it is all the more remark- able when we consider that the finan- cial reward for the attending doctors is absolutely zero. “If I may be of service by going | deeper or wider into this inquiry, I shall be glad to be so advised. “Very truly yours, (Signed) “CHAS. S. WHITE, M. D, “Head of Department of Surgery, Gallinger Municipal Hospital.” BOYS’ CLUB MEMBERS WILL ATTEND MOVIE Lads Will Be Guests of Junior Cinema Guild at Rialto Saturday. Members of the Boys’ Club of the Metropolitan Police Department will be guests of the Junior Cinema Guild at the showing of “Stormy,” the first of a series of 15 Saturday morning motion picture programs to be held at the Rialto Theater at 10:30 o'clock. On following Saturdays boys and girls of other prominent organiza- tions, social service agencies and set- tlement houses will be guests. It is planned that these groups will put on skits of their own preceding the pic- ture showings. R U. S. EMPLOYES’ FORUM Representative Dockweiler to Speak at Meeting Tomorrow, Representative Dockweiler, Demo- crat, of California, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, will speak at the weekly forum of the United Government Employes at 3 »:m. tomorrow in the Garnet Patterson Junior High Auditorium. | for low-pay Government workers at the last session of Congres: ‘There 1 be a musical progra: Hot-Water HEA Famous B "T’x American Radiator Co. 1st Quality Product installed in 6 Rooms as low as 3 Years to Pay Price includes ARCO Ideal Boiler, 6 Radiators, 300 ft. Radiation, In- stalled by experts, AMERICAN HEATING ENG. CO,, INC. 1005 N. Y. Ave. NA. 8421 Mr. Dockweiler sponsored increases | | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON D. C., NOVEMBER 28, 1937—PART ONE. Object of Rental Battle quarters there. SEQARITY MALDIRG Health Security Building, Eighth and I streets, from which the Permit Office of the Health Department must be ejecfed immediately unless the controller general’s office reverses a ruling that the District has not been authorized to pay rent for WEALTH i P —Star Staff Photo. Health (Continued From First Page.) had been transferred back to the adult building. Dr. Ruhland sought an early end to the debate by his decision to submit the problem to the Tuberculosis Ad- visory Board, which consists of Dr. William Charles White, chairman; Dr. John L. Minor, Dr. James G Townsend and Dr. Leroy Adams, who is affiliated with the Veterans’ Admin- istration. Dr. Townsend, who is president of the District Tuberculosis Association, told The Star yesterday: “All health authorities recognize that there should not be any intermingling of adult and child tuberculosis patients. The im- portant thing is to keep them effec- tively separated, and of course, this is easier if they are housed in separate not considered imperative if there is effective segregation within the build- ing.” Segregation Held Ineffective. Critics of the policy of hospitalizing Glenn Dale said the two classes of patients were not segregated effective- ly, since only swinging doors separated their wards and they made use of the same dining room and toilet facilities. Dr. Townsend said the Tuberculosis Association had taken no official posi- tion in the Glenn Dale controversy, considering it a matter of “internal administration.” The Health Department permit of- fice. formerly housed in the District | Building., was given free use of space | in the Health Security Building at Eighth and I streets N.W. up to last July, but since then the Commission- | ers have received demands for rent of $1,500 a year. The office was moved to the Health Security Building about two years age so that it might work in L"O:‘(‘i co-operation with the Central Ad- | mitting Bureau for Hospitals, an | agency financed by the Community Chest, and with the Medical-Dental | Service Bureau, a charity agency | Wwhich was operated by private phy- | sicians as an aid to charity patients which could not be cared for by the | District. Ejection of the permit office from | its present quarters would be a se- | rious blow to the co-operative effort, District officials said, since it almost necessarily would mean a separation of the permit office from the Central Admitting Bureau. Except in cases of extreme emer- gency, it is explained, the District institutions may not accept charity patients unless they can show they have been legal residents of the Dis- trict for one year. In many cases, where the applicant has been a res dent here for less than a year, the problem is handle® by the Central Admitting Bureau, the cost. No Funds for Rent. sioners noted there was no specific appropriation for rent for the per- mit office. The need had not been anticipated. Dr. Ruhland then sought use of some of the social security healtn grants for the purpose, and approval was obtained from the U. S. Public Health Service, the record shows. However, Maj. Daniel J. Donovan, District auditor, still was uncertain about the legality of the obligation and the problem was submitted to the controller general. The formal answer from that agency, revealed yesterday, was that neither Federal nor District funds could be used for rent unless so specifically authorized by Congress. In their letter tp the controller general, the Commissioners stressed that a separation of the per- mit office from the Central Admit- ting Bufeau would “increase the hard- ship, burdens and responsibilities of both agencies.” They cited the dif- buildings, but separate buildings are | adults in the children’s building M; i | cause of fire, building and other reg- |1t can in no way assume responsibility with the Com- | munity Chest bearing all or part of | ‘When the demand for rent of $125 | a month was received, the Commis- | had | %40 ALLOWANCE FOR YOUR OLD RADIO ficulties of issuing permits to legal residents if the permit office was moved, and warned that persons not one-year residents might have dif- ficulty obtaining aid. ‘The Commissioners said: “If the Health Department is re- quired to move out of this building (at Eighth and I), it is feared that sick people will actually suffer be- cause of inability to get permits to hospitals where they may be taken for treatment. There is no place that the Health Department has at present where it (the permit office) could go, and if there were, it would require weeks to actually gain occupancy, be- ulations that must be complied with, before occupancy can actually be es- | tablished. “The Health Department feels that for these people if it were necessary for it (the permit office) to be trans- fered elsewhere at the present.” Conference is Called. Seeking settlement of the health center problem, the Commissioners will call into conference this week Dr. Ruhland, spokesmen for the public | schools, and Capt. H. S. Bishop, As- sistant Engineer Commissioner, who has charge of the District's construc- tion program. | Health officials at first had sought | an area near First and Pierce streets | N.W. as the site for the first poly- | clinic, but when school officials asked for this for a site for a new school to replace the Jones School, the swap was agreed to, according to the st at the District Building. School offi cials are reported to have agreed at the time that thev could make pro- vision for the 300 Jones School pupils by next January 1. At any rate, Congress appropriated | funds for construction of the poly- clinic on the site of the Jones School and appropriation funds only for the purchase of land for the new school building. Last month, when school officials said 300 pupils would be de- prived of their only available housing if the health center construction were started at once, the Commissioners held up the program. The future | course will be outlined this week, WATCH REPAIRS™9Y MONEY BACK GUARANTEE DUST PROOF WATCH CRYSTALS 0dd shapes, 50c; round, 35¢ Nationally known fewelry and watches. Hamilton. Figin. Bulova. Benrus. Terms. ERNEST BURK ER CREDIT JEWE 1105 G St. N.W.. Rm. = JEWELRY ¢ for CHRISTMAS Shop at the friendly store—you're always greeted with a smile —with no obligation to buy. And where your satisfaction is our chief concern. Specializing in Perfect Diamonds and all Standard American Watches Complete Line of Gifts 3¢ M. Wurtzburger Co. 901 G St. N.W. Charge Accounts Invited Mrs. Roosevelt and Heiress' Inspect Tygart Homestead By the Associated Press. ; ELKINS, W. Va, Nov. 27.—De- layed by rain and fog, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mrs. James H. R. Cromwell, the former Doris Duke, came to West Virginia late today in time to make a swift tour of the Ty- gart homestead in fast-fading light. Mrs. Cromwell wore a Russian mink- coat over a two-piece brown knit dress, a gay little kalot atop her head, while Mrs. Roosevelt was clad in a tweed suit, with brown sable neckpiece and a brown straw hat. Both women wore low-heeled walking Oxfords, More than 400 eager settlers at ‘he homestesd, 12 miles south of El- kins, heard their president, Andrew Wood, head of the Tygart Valley Co- operative Association, introduce their guests. Mrs. Roosevelt, whose greatest in- terest in the administration’s proj- ects lies in resettlement work, said: “I am not interested in what I am doing for you but in what you are doing for yourselves.” During this speech Mrs. Cromwell, the “world's richest girl,” sat gravely in the background, as attentive as any member of the audience. Later the 25-year-old heiress talked freely with her awed hosts at a re- ception, munching cookies and sip- ping apple cider in between. Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Cromweil are staying as ordinary tourists at a private home in Elkins. Are Troubled With REEUMATISM SANTA’S GREATEST HELPER! 3. & N HATE BIRTHDRY SALE! 5% fO 33 1/370 DISCOUNTS “REPEATED BY REQUEST Wm. Rogers A-1 Plus 60-Pe. Silverplate Set Made and Guoranteed by Oneida N A Regularly *32* *Comparative price means that this set is now selling elsewhere at price indicated. 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