Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-11-04
LAW MAY COMPEL
HOSPITAL REPORTS
Police Would Be Notified of All
Cases Needing In
vestigation.

Enactment of a law making it manda-
tory upon hospitals to make immediate
report to the police of all cases brought
in for treatment in which there is ap-
parent need of police investigation may
grow out of the failure of the Emery
ency Hospital to report the case of
Thelma Mackey, the seventeen-year-
old girl who attempted suicide by
swallowing poison and was a patient
at the hospital several days before her
whereabouts were discovered
There is no probability of the police
department detailing an officer at Emer-
gency or Casualty Hospital to report
such cases. but there is a strong likelihood
that the Commissioners will endeavor to
obtain legislation that will put it UP to
the hospitals, private and public alike. to
keep the police department informed Of all
cases involving a possible police angle.
The Emergency and Casualty hos
pitfalls, 1T is stated, follow this practice
now. and have done so since the police
details formerly maintained there were
abolished, with the exception that no
report was made in the Mackey case.
Why exception was made in this case
the department does not know, but it
is no secret that the police consider
1T negligence or poor judgment on the
part of the hospital management
Law Only Solution.
Maj. Pullman. superintendent of
police, said today that there have been
aggravated instances of a number of
hospitals failing to report cases of a
police character, and, in some in
stances. it would appear that the hos
pitfalls did not desire to cooperate with
judgment, he said, would appear to be
sufficient to cause the hospitals to make
immediate report of such cases, there is
still much to be desired in the way of
cooperation, and he believed a law
compelling the making of reports to be
about the only solution of the problem.
Since the beginning of Maj. Pullman's
administration the police department
has placed additional police service,
costing about $4,000. on the streets as
a result of abolishing details at Elmer
gency and Casualty hospitals and other
similar details where police officers were
filing so-called fat Jobs that were not
considered necessary.
The police department head this
morning emphatically stated that the
hospital details would not be restored
and that other means of obtaining re-
ports from the hospitals would be con-
sponsibility in the Mackey case and
all other such cases in which no report
is made is up to the hospitals and not
the police department.
Not Up to Hospital, He Says.
DIR. Lewis, superintendent of the
Emergency Hospital. declared en-
phatically today that the responsible
ity in the case of Miss Mackey was
not up to the hospital.
at would seem only reasonable to
expect that If a lookout had been
sent out. as reported. such a place as
the Emergency Hospital would be the
first one to be called on for informa-
ton. Such has always been the case
in times past" said DR.. Lewis.
DR.. Lewis said that he has repeatedly
asked Maj. Pullman to put the police
back at the Emergency Hospital, and
has asked Commissioner Brownlow to
use his good offices to this effect DR..
Lewis declares that the hospital at all
times is acting as a physician, and not
as a policeman. although he personally
has assumed such duties on hundreds
of occasions, and states that he would
be willing to submit at any time a list
of such cases. The superintendent of
the Emergency Hospital points out that
he has many times telephoned to the
police at his own expense to tell them
of cases which he thought should be
brought to their notice, such cases &C.
curing daily