New-York tribune., 1919-05-15
DR.. Conley Urges
Placing g Hospitals
Under One Head
Charities Official Advocates
Radical Changes to Con-
ference; Present System
Wastes Money, He Says

Radical changes in the conduct Of
the city's hospitals, involving the con-
troll OF all hospitals by the Departm ent
OF Charities, were advocated by Dr.
Walter H. Conley, acting general medi-
cal superintendent of Blackwells ISL
and, Department of Public Charities, at
the annual conference of Charities and
Correction in the Russell Sage Foun-
dation Building yesterday afternoon.
At present the hospitals are under
three different departme the Chari-
ties Department controlling ten, the
Health Department five and the trus-
tees of Bellevue and Allied Hospitals
five. This is wastage Of city money,
according to DR.. Condey, inasmuch as
the three departments purchase the
same kind of supplies at different times
ana under separate contracts.
Hospital Department Urged
The ideal form of hospital control.
he said, would be Department of Hos
pitfalls, under the jurisdiction of a
commissioner of hospitals. The dis
advantage of putting the hospitals
INTO politics, however, with the proba-
bility Of change of commissioner af-
ter every election, made it necessary to
abolish all hope for this sort Of con-
troll.
"The next best proposition is hos
pital division in the Department of
PUBLIC Charities, in charge of medi-
cal director appointed from civil
service list by the Commissioner of
Public Charities" DR.. Conley con-
tinued.
I'm this way the director would be
permanent and would not change with
the change of administration in the
city. The hospitals themselves could
be divided into three divisions viz,
the general hospitals of Manhattan aud
Bronx. the general hospitals in Brook
lyn, Queens and Richmond and the
contagious hospitals. A deputy di-
rector should be in charge of each d.
vision and they should also be civil
service appointees.
"My reason for placing this hospital
division under the Department of Pub
lle Charities is that the Commissioner
OF Pubic Charities is the poor officer
OF the city Of New York and he is en-
powered to make Investigations in re-
latlon to city patients in the subsi-
dlzed private hospitals, thus bringing
all hospital patients under the control
OF one department. All hospitals are
charitable institutions, some more SO
than others, and, for this reason, if
no other, should be administered by
the Department of Public Charities.
my reason for not placing this as
a division Of the Department of Health
is that the Commissioner of Health is
the health officer of the city, and, in
addition to his many other duties, has
ut
eases, and there his jurisdiction should
end. By this l mean that all disease
OF a contagious nature should be re-
ported to the Department of Health,
and when found by the Department of
Health to be of this nature should be
immediately sent to hospital in the
hospital department.
Mrs. Biggs Presides
"The chief function of the Depart.
ment of Health is to prevent disease,
and next to detect disease. The care
OF the sick does not belong to the
Department of Health any more than
Goes the care Of prisoners after they
have been arrested. The police pre-
vent crime and arrest criminals, but
the Correction Department cares for
them after they have been sentenced. /"
Mrs. Herman M. Biggs, vce-presi-
dent OF the conference committee. pre-
sided over the afternoon session. The
other speakers were Miss Mary Tin
ney, chairman of the committee on
Public Charities; Charles H. johnson,
secretary of the State Board of Chari-
ties, the Rev Robert F. Keepan.
secretary for charities to Archbishop
Hayes, and DR.. George O'Hanlon, gen
cral medical superintendent of Bellevue
Hospital.
The evening session at Brooklyn
Chamber of Commerce was devoted to
the subject of delinquency, the speak
ers being Alexander Mckinney, Will
lam Dean Embree, counsel of the yolun-
tary defenders committee; Mayer C.
Goldman, Arthur W. Towne and Charles
j. Dodd, City Magistrate, of Brooklyn.