Pueblo chieftain., 1921-01-19
IMPROVING D SPENSAR|ES

TO Mt patiently on a row OF hard,
wooden seats. as the afternoon wore
on and only third of their number
had reached tho front office. In the
front office. where one patient was
admitted at n time, all was confusion.
Doctors rushed in and out. hunting
lost records the telephone interrupted
every other second, and tho young
lady who was attempting to take down
the patients history wore a dazed e1-
preston.
"Do you wonder that sometimes
get the people mixed up?" she asked
woarily. as the clock pointed to five
minutes after the clinics closing time.
and the procession of patients still
kept on.
sympathetically, some of them sit
ting there all afternoon waiting for
their turn and now having to go home
without getting any attention at all.
The committee has a remedy for
this evil, also, however. 1t believes
that this waiting period of the patti
cnts could easily be used for educa-
tional purposes. Moving pictures deal
ing with certain health aspects. it
says. could be shown. large posters
concerning health matters could be
placed on the walls of the dispensary,
where they could be read from "A dis
tance, and other methods of health
strations. IL believes. would also be Of
great value in this conpection. Whom
not in use during clinic hours. the
dispensary might also be used for lee
lures, classes in dietetics, corrective
gymnastics and the teaching of
hygiene. In other words, II suggest,
the dispensary should strive TO become
the health educational center Of the
ncighborhood.
/ In the matter of fees. the CLINICS
vary widely. No effort has been made
to standardizo charges. Usually. The
charge is very low, altho in some dis
ponsarics the registration fee is
high as one dollar. Municipal hos
pitfalls charge no fees whatsoever In
their out-patient departments, but
payments arc accepted in such hospi-
tails for the maintenance of patients
| in the wards The committee believes
that a standard charge for treatment
as well as for medicine, dressings and
electricity. among all the dispensarics.
would he cxpedient.
For Ben.fn OF Poor only
Primarily. Of course. ,lispensaric1
are for tho poor In fact, the New
York law provides that no person who
is able TO pay a private physician can
! be treated in a dispcuSiry. and the
dispcnSary registrars arc instructed
carefully to question all applicants on
that only a very small percentage OF
people apply for dispenS,ry and when
they can afford to consult a physician.
but recently tho percentage has shown
a pcrccptlhic rise The knowledge
that the samc specialists who charcn
10 10 20 dollars per visit to their pri-
vate offices. are often found strewinC
their pearls Of wisdom about certain
clinics. has led persons to pretend oN-
ceSsive poverty during tho past two
years
\ fow clinics in New York inciud-
ing notably tho Neurological Institute,
are open to tho public on a sliding scale
OF charges, fixed In accordance with
each persons income. but tho pay
{ clinic Is a comparatively recent dew
clopment here. Usually q is opposed
on tho grounds that II intcrfcres with
the business of private practitioners.
which tho committee finds rcgrettable.
inasmuch as there is an urgent need
FOR dispcns1ry treatment among tho
middl. classes Because he Is not
rich enough. the man of moderate in
como cannot afford private consulta-
ton with hieh-priccd specialists, and
because he Is not poor enough. nc 81
denied their aid in the clinics.
For with all their faults. MS tho
Public Health Committee sees them.
the dispcnsnrios OF tho better typo
provide the poor OF our big cities with
practically the sslmc medical aid that
the rich receive from prominent spec
iallsis. II they can do 50 much undCr
their present physical and financial
restrictions. how much moro could
they do with moro money and equip
mont2 And should they not be opcr
TO all who cannot afford the services
OF specialists