Omaha daily bee., 1896-04-11
PHYSICIANS CALL A HALT
1oard Of Supervisors Asked to Make 4
New Ruling,
CHARITY PATIENTS CAUSE A QU NRRtl
In Future Local Hospitals VIII Treat
Subjects According to the
Methods of the Regu-
1nr stan.

A delegations OF physicians called upon
the board of supervisors yesterday afternoon
with a grievance. In the delegation were:
Drs. Treynor, Jennings, Waterman, Barstow,
and Lacy Their kick against the manner OF
treating pauper patients was presented. and
the board unanimously decided that the
relief asked should be granted.
But there's another story in connection with
the matter. DR.. Jennings was selected as
spokesman of the delegation, and his state
ment was plainly and tersely made. He
said 1t had been the custom Of the county
the hospital and treat them there to the
exclusion of the regular staff Of hospital
physicians. 1t was n case, he said, wbece
the physicians, were anxious to do some
thing for nothing. He said every physician
In the city, and everywhere else for that
matter, did more or less charity business
every week, and almost every day IN the
year. Physicians were called almost oaily
to attend patients who we're unable to pay,
and the physicians knew this at the time.
Not infrequently the physicians furnished
their W medicines, and were also often
led to buy food for the INDECENT patients.
simply as a matter Of humanity. This was
n common experience with physicians. But
there was a redeeming feature to the WORK
Of charity. Occasionally a remarkable case
was discovered among the pauper patients
and the physician. who had been treating
such cases for nothing was certainly cnt'tLed
to profit by any development of ne case
tina. might occur. And hero was where the
trouble came In.
He instanced a case os a woman In East
Omaha, a county charge whose case was very
unusual. His attention was callei to 1t, and
he and another physician went t. the eX-
pense of making several visits and treated
the woman. She was removed TO st. her
nard's hospital, and an operation was ceclded
upon. Then the county physician stopped in
and declared that the woman was a county
patient. and he would ueat he" and the
physicians who had been to the trouble and
expense of former work in the case we're
barred out and prevented from prohting by
the result of the operation which 1t ha! been
found necessary to perform.
DR.. Jennings said that it was the dc ire CT
the physicians to be allowed to treat the
county cases at the hospitals without the
interference of the county p ,ysiclLu. Each
hospital had a staff Of physicians, and there
was no charge for treating he hospitals
patients. He understood that the coliy had
an agreement and contract with he Two his
pitfalls that county patients shIiii he cared
for at a certain stipulated pr.ce, and that
the contract called for medical attendalce.
1t was the desire Of the physicians that the
board make the rule that the county Thysl-
clan should have nothing TO do with county
patients in the hospitals, but that The york
Of treating them should be left 10 the reen-
lar hospital staff of physicians. There vas
no trouble on this score, and the board de-
cided that such was the intention and word
ing of their contract with the hospitals ana
that hereafter the county physician would
be expected to leave patients in the hospi-
tails to the treatment of the regular hospi-
tai staff.
Part of the trouble in question is due TO
the efforts of the county physician to intro
duce homeopathic practice into st. Bernards
hospital. All of the staff physicians OF that
hospital are members of the old school. inc
hospital has contracted 20 furnish medical
attendance to county patients. To comply
with this requirement Of the contract under
the county physicians plan, would compel
the sisters to put in a stock OF homeopathic
medicines, and they do not feel Xix assum-
ing the expense for the purpose OF accom-
modating the county physician, as none OF
the regular staff physicians of the hospital
would use the same remedies. Under the
ruling of the board, the difficulty Will be
settled. DR.. Keller. the county physician, is
a member of the homeopathic stan OF the
Women's Christian Association hospital,
where both schools are represented, ana VIII
have to conine his hospital practice to that
institution. where county patients are con-
cerned,