Evening star., 1921-02-17
GREATERHOSP|TAL
PROGRAM FOR WAR
HER0ESPREPARED
Treasury Ready to Launch
$18,000,000 Project When
Funds Are Provided.
COMPLETED WORK WILL
GIVE 80, 1000 TREATMENT
Expansion of Existing Public
Health Service Hospitals and
Army Forts in Use Included.

= Va 10 III OoC 4AC4u0Cu.
Preparations by the Treasury are
under way, Assistant Secretary La
Porte said today. to launch the pro-
posed eighteen-million-do dollar hospital
dement, of disabled war veterans inn
mediately the funds are made avail
able by Congress
proceeding on the plan now before
the Senate for adoption. Mr.. La Porte
explained, the Treasury is making
ready for the expansion of fifteen ex-
listing hospitals and the erection of
five new plants. in order that the work
may start on short notice. Comple-
tion of the program. he said. would
provide accommodation for treatment
or about 10000 patients, which 10 the
average daily number expected during
| the coming year.
At present. Mr.. La Porte said, the
government has about 10000 beds of
its own for the treatment of service
men. $4,000 more are cared for in pri-
vate hospitals and an addition of 5000
beds to the existing federal facilities
is planned.
Selection Of Sites.
The five new hospitals, Mr.. La Porte
explained, will cost about S25OO. 600
each and three of them will contain
LOCO beds each. If the present plan IL
carried out. Consideration now is
being given to the choice Of sites for
these institutions. he said, which
means a careful study of the facilities
in various localities and their loca-
tion as to centers of population for
disabled veterans.
Expansion Of existing public health
service hospitals and Army forts now
used for that purpose and increases in
medical personnel. Mr.. La Porte said,
would absorb the rest Of the funds
now contemplated. These hospitals.
he said, are located at Boston, New
York. Perryville. Nd; Norfolk, Whip
pie Barracks, Ariz.: Chicago, Lake
City, Fla; Atlanta. Louisville. Fort
Pittsburgh. while the Army forts are
Fort Mackenzie, Wyo.: Fort Walla
Waala, Wash. and Fcrt Logan II.
Efforts will be made. Mr.. La Porte
program in operation within yeat
Men Never Turned Away.
Although new hospitals are needed
by the public health service to. bake
care of patients now In contract or
state hospitals. or in buildings not
entirely suitable for hospital pur-
poses. Surgeon General Cummings
titled to treatment had never been
turned away by the government, and
that those in need of immediate at
tention were always placed under
the care Of physician while the
question of their eligibility for treat
ment was being investigated. ~
The departmental regulations de-
fine the term patients OF the bureau
of war risk insurance" as any sick
or disabled former service man or
son nj iynD fnr NO oof n
and they remain in the public health
service care until claims have been
disallowed or until they are dis
charged as cured.
Starting with approximately 100
physicians and less than a dozen
nurses on March 8, 1919. the date on
which the act was approved giving it
charge of the war risk bureau pa
tients. the public health service has
expanded until it now has 2,533 ply
sicians giving all or part of their
time to the work, of which more than
1000 are commissioned officers of the
service, while an additional number
of $500 physicians is registered as
examiners on a fee basis and the force
of nurses and dietitians is well over
2,oeo. ~.
I'VE are now treating between 25.- :
900 and $4,000 patients" said one of
the officials of the public health serv-
ice today. ''Since taking over this
work we have had total of more
than 10000 hospital cases. and OF
that number less than ! per cent nave
had cause to complain of their treat
ment. But every complaint that has
been made has been investigated. and
of the total number thus taken up.
about 5 per cent have been found to
be justified"
Contract Hospital Cases.
Forty per cent of the patients are
now in contract hospitals. which are :
institutions having no direct rela-
tion to the federal government. but :
where war risk patients are treated
and for whom the law authorizes the
payment of SO a day each. Ohciais
sa id today that about three-fourths OF
the complaints of poor treatment from (
the men come from such hospitals.
although the most of them were well
conducted.
Among the contract hospitals
where we have patients are the Penn
sylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. the
Providence and Garfield hospitals in
washington and the big new hospital
in Cincinnati" said DR.. Cumming.
There is no question but that our pa :
tients in any of those places receive
essary for us to put men in small hos
pitals in some parts of Texas. or in
The northwest, or other sparsely set
tied districts they are not always SO
fortunate.
I'm such places we make every ef-
fort to get the best possible treat
ment for our patients. and the num-
her in unsatisfactory institutions
forms a very small per cent "a tne
whole. ooo
200 beds a month to our own hos :
nital facilities, which means that we
are eouipping what amounts to a ESQ
he'd hospital every week, and provfd-S
ing the full complement OF physicfans,
nurses, dieticians and other personnel
-.'In these places we give the men
every possible attention, and the food
ia better than that OF the average
civilian hospital, for we operate on q
larger scale and have a definite stand
ard to reach
Effect Of Criticisms.
Criticisms which have been direct- Z
ed against the treatment Of former
service men have had a very serious
erect on those for whom the govern
ment is trying to do its utmost. said {
DR.. Cumming. OF the hundreds who
are applying every month for treat
ment. many have neglected their con-
dition until they are now In q serious
stage. Asked why they have allowed :
ther disability to run tte course % (.
long, they have replied that they
"did not think It worth while" to aD-
ply to. the government. or that they
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