New-York tribune., 1918-05-15
Warning Given Contagious
Wards May Be Closed
to Fighting Men
Nurses Also Needed
Serious Situation Outlined by
DR.. Wilson in Report to
DR.. Copeland

Because of the large number of doc
tors and nurses taken for service in
the army navy and Red Cross, the
contagious disease hospitals OF the
Board of Health are now without ade-
quate medical or nursing staffs and
experiencing the greatest difficulty in
finding men and women for the vacant
places.
SO great is the handicap under
which these hospitals are now operat-
ing that there is danger they will have
TO cease receiving patients from the
army and navy and contine their con-
tagious work to the civilian popula-
tion Of the city.
port made to Health Commissioners
Royal S. Copeland by DR.. Wilson. chief
of the bureau of hospitals Of the de.
partment.
ION account of war conditions" says
this report, there is shortage OF
physicians and nurses in the hospitals
of this department, and there is nc
available sourc@ of supply from which
vacancies may be filled.
For the last year this department
has been receiving soldiers and sailors
with contagious diseases for treatment
The total number treated has been
3,6ol' Of which 2,519 nave been treated
at the Willard Parker Hospital, Sal al
the Riverside Hospital, ISL at the
Kingston Avenue Hospital, and 10 at
the greensboro Hospital. Since we be-
gan to care for soldiers and sailors G
hospital physicians have left the Will
lard Parker Hospital to enter the mill
tary service, 12 from the Riverside
Hospital, 4 from the Kingston Avenue
Hospital, and 8 from the Municipa,
Sanatorium for Tuberculosis, making
a total of 25.
During the entire time we have
been short of physicians and have i'm
portuned the Army and Navy depart
ments to leave us sufficient number
of doctors to take care of our patients
1t would seem reasonable for these de-
partments at least to leave undisturbcd ID
sufficient number Of physicians to
take care of the soldiers and sailors
actually being treated and which they
would have to procure from some
source if we were to be obliged to
give up caring for these patients for
want of physicians to give them proper
medical attention.
"We now have on duty twenty one
male hospital physicians and six male
lnuefneS. vi tneSe, three OF the hos
pital physicians have commissions and
have not yet been assigned to duty,
and seven are in the draft and liable
to be called at any moment. O. the
internes three have commissions and
have not yet been assigned to duty,
and two are ir the draft If the in
ternes who are subject to military duty
were Immediately called. it would
leave only one man available. If the
hospital physicians subject to military
duty We're Immediately called it would
leave only eleven. five of whom are on
duty at the Municipal Sanatorium and
do not offer any relief in the conta-
gious disease hospitals. The govern
ment must give protection in this mat
ter or we will be unable to receive
soldiers and sailors.
"These hospitals have lost since
January ], 1918, twenty-nine nurses
from the Willard Parker Hospital
twenty from the Riverside Hospital
ten from the Kingston Avenue Hospital
and four from the Greensboro Hos.
pital making total of sixty three
most of whom have entered the mill
tary service of the country.
"At this time eighteen nurses have
given notice that they are to be called
to the Red Cross within a short time
The same situation confronts us in re.
gard to nurses as in the case Of
doctors"