The Washington times., 1922-10-06
NEWH0SP|TALS
ALREADY TAKING
WAR VETERANS
Service Much Improved by
Langley Bill Plans,
Forbes Reports.
BY COL. CHARLES r. FORBES,
Director War Veterans Bureau.

BY COL. CHARLES r. FORBES,
Director War Veterans Bureau.
Written for Cosmopolitan News srrN"-.
The medical service and treat
ment afforded to the ex-service
man by the U. S. Veterans
Bureau will be materially improved
by the construction Of the hos
pitfalls authorized by the second
Langley bill.
Some of these hospitals are now
receiving patients, while still
others are now in the course Of
construction. The project which
the Veterans Bureau has under
taken, through the appropriations
made available by this bill, in
cludes the following:
Bureaus New Projects.
A neuro.psychiatric hospital at
| Northampton, Mass, the ground
work and foundation OF which are
now being constructed
A 5O0-bed neuro-psyChiatric hos.
1 pital at Chillicothe. Ohio, the bids
for which have recently been re.
Ceived.
A 5OO-bed tuberculosis hospital at
, Chelsea, y. Y. to be constructed
Jointly by the Treasury Department
and the Veterans Bureau.
The Methodist Hospital at Mem.
phis. Tenn. recently purchased. to
be used for general medical and
surgical cases.
A neuropsychiatric hospital at
Camp Lewis, Wash, plans and speCi.
fiCations TO be ready before OCtU.
Der |.
A mental hospital at Knoxville.
Iowa. now being designed.
A project at LiVermore. Cat. flr
which bids vii. he ready October J.
A tubercular hospital at rupp r
Lake, y. y, for which ground eX-
Cavations have been started.
4 hospital at Gulfport. Miss.
A neuro pSYrhiatriC hospital TO he
crec"d at Camp Custer. Mich.
A hospital TO be ereCrd at St.
Cloud MINI.
When this construction program
IL completed the Veterans Bureau
will be able to transfer patients
from a number Of contract hospitals
which are not satisfactory, to thPSN
modern fireproof hospitals. Such :
transfer will insure the best medt.
cal care and attention obtainable.
Employment Service.
The Veterans Bureau recently
established an employment service.
the function OF which Is to obtain
employment for all Disabled vet
Grams who have completed voca.
tional training. This orGa nization
has established contact with praC-
tiCallv all OF the large industries
IN the country. and "nployn"nt
opportunities are being opened
daily TO veterans who have finished
their courses OF instruction En-
ploymcnt representative OF III"
bureau are located in all OF the
largo cities. and employers who
desire TO obtain the services of we'll
trained men may get in touch with
! them in their own cities. This SerN'
ice is still in it's infancy but will
become more effective a. soon as
1 the orga n izatio is perfected
A new policy has been induguratcd
| TO give several thousand veterans in
| hospitals the benefit of II practically
vocational training az soon as their
physical conditions permit. som" of
our hospitals will he converted into
comb nation sanatoriumS and train
| ing Centers where men who haN"
progressed physically to the working
| and planning stage will he given as
much TO do in their chosen vocational
work az medical officers find they
are able to do without danger OF re-
lapse.
The inauguration Of this policy
| will result in a better and more con.
| tented mental state at once, and as
| the men improve this vocational
work will be steadily increased. This
| new policy is aimed to restore the
! Tagging spirits of 65 per cent OF the
tubercular and mental patients in
our hospitals, practically all of whom
are well enough 10 walk around and
to worry about their future because
they do not have enough work TO
occupy their minds.
Patients Going Home.
A large number Of these amhulRnt
patients will be discharged from
! the hospitals and returned to their
homes, provided home environment
is conducive to recovery. Compen-
sation, which these patients are
receiving will not he reduced by
reason of their discharge as long
az their disability exists. We will
devise simple inspection system
TO determine their PHYSICAL condi.
tion so as tC he assured that this
latitude in their behalf Is not
abused.
We believe this plan when fully
worked out is applicable not only 10
mental and tubercular patients who
have progressed sufficiently to ba
benefited by IT, hut also 20
thousands OF chronic general
patients. This plan Is designed t.
III into a larger policy Of applSln
long needed minimum standards IN
all hospitals