The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-18
Advocates of Change Point Out Birmingham's Super
 for Facilities Over Mobile
TO PRESENT BILL
 TO LEGISLATURE
Only in Birmingham Can Sufficient Clinical Work to Insure Mainten- ance of Class A Qualifica-
 tion Be Obtained

At the July session of the legislature bill authorizing the removal of the Medical school of the University of Ala bama from Mobile to Birmingham will be presented to the legislators and advo- eates of the measure are hopeful of it's passage, passing their optimism on a large number of excellent reasons why the med ical school should be located in Birming- ham.
 It is pointed out by partisans of the bill that modern medical teaching can be done only in the laboratory and in the hospital The laboratories may be wher- ever the state sees fit to place them, but a hospital supplying sufficient clinical material can be found only in the largest centers of population. Therefore, they say Birmingham is the only logical point in the state where the medical school can be located, If it is to retain it's clas- sification with the American Medical as- 4sociation as a Class A institution.
 As matter of fact, it has often been said that the medical department of the University is at Mobile in name only that the facilities at Mobile for clinical teaching were negligible, and that most oi the students come to Birmingham to gel training in the school here. The city couiIifSSiOuSfS Ol MoDlle SOHuetifn6 dSO, over the protest of the dean of the school and President Denny, placed the entire and final control or the hospital in that city in the hands of the Sisters of Char tty, who. at their pleasure, permit the faculty of the school to use the 60 beds during eight months for medical teach ing. These privileges are by courtesy and not by written contract.
 The council on medical education of the American Medical association will not accept as Class A institution any medi- cal school which Is not provided with al least 200 beds whore the students can get their training by seeing actual cases of the study they are engaged in The largest number possible at Mobile is 60 and it is understood the daily average is between 30 and 40 beds occupied.
 In Birmingham there are POO beds and a daily average of 165 cases that may be observed by the students in the Hilman hospital. The county board of revenue has given unqualified permission and a contract to use the hospital 12 months in the year is now in the vault at the uni versity. The diversified industries of the Birmingham district make accidents un- avoidable and surgical students get valu- able experience in observing the handling of hundreds of operations, experience they could not get in any other part of Alabama.
 hecent CtflSuS stdllSliCs liuicdtc tHdt the clinical facilities at Mobile will grow at very slow rate at best, while those of Birmingham are increasing at faster ratio probably than in any other city of its size in the world and will in the fu- ture offer abundance of clinical material for a school of any size.
 Tn Mobile the university owns valuable land and buildings, the latter constructed with funds supplied by the state from the state treasury. The location of this property is very undesirable, it is under stood.
 In Birmingham the university owns lands of greater value, centrally located which are given outright. with the sole provision that they be used for medical teaching. In addition to this, the citizens of Birmingham have subscribed sJ0,000 for a free dispensary to be owned and op- erated by the university. Plans have been accepted and the work of construction on the @ispensary building will begin in the very near future.
 The advocates of the bill to be presented to the legislature are very active in its behalf and, backed up by hundreds oi arguments. are confident it will be passed