Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-12-17

DOCTORS PROTEST THE POLICY
Recent Cases of Neglect to Give Phys
icians Services to Poor Family
Calls Out Protest From Officers o.
Marshall County Medical Society
Other Counties Have Better Plan.

in the bank getting rich at the expense
of her duty to the sick and suffering
poor? Does the present system of let
ting the county doctoring to the low
est bidder at $500 per year perform
the service which society owes to af-
flicted humanity? Since the complaint
has been raised that the county gets
its poor buried free Of cost by bidding
the undertakers against one another
ding distress in which neither the
county doctor nor anyone Of several
others could be secured to attend a
child dying in an agony of pain, the
question has been raised as to our
system Of giving medical aid to the
poor in Marshall county.
DR.. f. P. Lierle, secretary Of, the
Marshall County Medical society,
when asked about the matter, replied
that the physicians had discussed the
subject quite often and were all agreed
llidI LIE pTSScllI SySCCII wa SOuoI ChS.
TN the first place." he said, mo ply
stefan can take care of Marshall coun-
tvs poor and DO it faithfully for the
amount the county pays. When had
it to do l got $500 and 1 couldn't at
tend to 1t right for that. But it Is
wrong to deprive a man of his family
physician merely because he, Is poor.
We have talked to the supervisors
about it but they seem to think we
are two well-paid now"
DR.. Lierle then explained that the
ideal system prevailed with the utmost
success in Jones county where the doc
tors all made the county a reduced
rate and attended calls upon request
from the oyerseer Of the poor. He said
that he thought Marshall county ought
to adopt this system and believed that
almost all the doctors would join in
making very low rate per call. 'In
this way" said Dr. Lierle, "the poor
would get medical aid when they need
ed 1t instead Of waiting until they are
dead to get sympathy thru the news
papers"
Upon request from the Times-Re-
publican, DR.. H. II. Nichols, vice pres
ident Of the Marshall County Medical
society, outlines his views as follows:
DR.. Nichols Experience.
Editor 1imesIRepublican:
Rendering proper medical aid to the
poor seems to be a very difficult prop
osition. That our present system is
inefficient we have evidence every
day. One or two striking examples
may be cited to prove this. With the
details of the recent sad Hittenmark
case. your readers are familiar. A few
months ago was called to a certain
house in the city. From the location
knew the people must be poor and
asked why they didn't get the county
doctor. The reply was, eve can't" I
went, found a man over 80 paralyzed
lying in bed fouled with his own ex-
cretions and in a hovel too filthy for
any human 1labitation. His only at
tendant was his aged wife, herself old,
infirm and mentally incapable. asked
why don't you have the county doc
tor look after you! They said "He has
been here but when we sent for him
again he said it was useless for him
to come for he could no nothing" This
was probably true for nothing in the
way of medicine could reach this case,
but why was he, the county doctor, so
handicapped that he could not provide
proper care for such people? Any
physician in Marshalltown can cite just
such cases as this. mention this one
only to show the necessity of doing
something.
Under the old order OF things the
county undoubtedly paid some bills for
medical care that were not warranted.
This induced the supervisors to find
some cheaper method and they adver
tised for bids. They certainly sue
ceeded in getting the work done more
cheaply but at the expense Of how
much human suffering ard mental
anguish no one knows. The present
policy Of the county seems to be,
that it is better for a hundred poor to
suffer than for one member of that
avaricious, grasping medical profession
to get a little more than was really
coming to him.
When Mr.. Shoemaker was sheriff, he
called me one night to attend a man
at the JAIL thought to be in serious
condition. The county doctor was out
of town. went, knowing to an abso-
lutte certainty that would never get