Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-17
S|XEMERGENCY
NURSES PENAL|zED
Names of AIumnae Leaders
Passed Over on Register for
Criticizing Hospital.

As an aftermath of the threatened
strike" of rs Emergency Hospital
graduate nurses last month, six
nurses, leaders in the Emergency Hos
pital Alumnae Association, have been
removed from the hospitals list of
those available for duty, it was learned
today
Hospital officials deny that the
names of the nurses have been
stricken from the register, but say
that Il has been considered advisable
not to call those who are out of SYM
pathy with the management of the in
stitution for service in the hospital.
The nurses declare they are being
singled out and punished for the acts
of the association, which they, as Off
GERS and spokesman, merely represent
ed. They say the association acted
as body and they were chosen to
present it's views to the hospital au-
thorities.
Dispute Later Settled.
The controversy arose when the
nurses, declaring the governing board
of the hospital had refused to hear
their complaints of mismanagement
and unfairness, announced that they
WOuIu Sever tl6lT COIIltCIIOIl WIFI Tic
institution unless some attention was
paid to their grievances The matter
was subsequently adjusted and the
nurses remained on duty.
Later, the nurses said, they learned
that their names were being passed
over on the register when calls for
nurses came from physicians.
B. B. Sandidge, superintendent of
the hospital, said it was his under.
standing that the six nurses involved
asked to have their names withdrawn.
nurses, refused to discuss the matter
at all.
Cites Bad Effect.
Woodbury. Blair, president of the
governing board, said the nurses were
not being called for duty until the
affair blows over" Mr.. Blair said he
believed the majority of the graduate
nurses were not in sympathy with the
stand Of the leaders. The publicity
given to the affair, he said, has had
a bad effect on the hospital, tending
to hurt the morale of the training
school and to put the institution in an
unfavorable light with the public.
Mr.. Blair emphasized that the board
could not act on charges against the
management preferred by the nurses.
He declared that the board was salts
fled with the conduct of the hospital
and any criticism of hospital officials
was criticism of the board itself. He
reiterated his previous statement that
a nurse, as public servant, has no
right to strike"
Nurses File Protest.
He said the six nurses had not
been taken from the register perma-
nently and expressed the belief that
as soon as they indicated their willing
ness to accept conditions in the hos
pital they again viii be called.
The nurses deny that they asked
that their names be withdrawn. They
declare they did not know they were
not being called until one of them
was asked to go on a case and later
told that another nurse had been Sc.
lected. They have protested against
the action Of the hospital, they said.
The nurses said their original i'll
tention had been misunderstood. They
denied any plan to walk off from
their cases, leaving their patients un-
attended. They merely threatened to
refuse to take any more cases in the
hospital. they said. They said they
resented being picked out as ring
leaders when they were merely spokes-
men.