The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-02-27

Recently at Long Island hospital,
a child with crushed foot
turned away by clerk because she
had arrived few minutes after
clinic hours. At the same hospital on
the same day a prospective mother
was forced to wait several hours for
treatment at the prenatal clinic. At
a downtown hospital, near the East
River waterfront, the seamen who
are beaten without cause daily by the
police are turned away and told to go
Bellevue Hospital.
Workers Mistreated.
Nowhere are the workers and their
families held in more contempt than
in the clinics of the hospitals of New
York City. When a worker seeks
treatment in a dispensary, he is
forced to undergo a long rigmarole
of grilling questioning, most of it
useless, and. many of the questions
are intended to embarrass him. In
any non-municipal hospital clinic in
his city, treatment is refused a
worker if he cannot afford the fees,
which are from so cents to a dollar,
not including drugs and such treat
ment as X-Ray (S3 to S10), electrical
baking or massage Isl or S2), and
pathological examinations ($2 and
up).
Slight Reductions.
Some of the Charitable" hospitals
grant slight reductions for clinical
treatment to worker after he has
been investigated by the social SER
vice workers. Very few workers with
self-respect feel comfortable while
the ordeal Of such ques-
lions as "What does each member of
you family do?" or, "Can any one
vouch for your inability to pay the
regular fees?" or, Are you abso-
lutely sure you cannot pay the regu-
lar rates?" OF "Can you get refer
ence from your employer?"
Waits For Hour.
If worker is injured on the jot
and rushes to the dispensary Of
hospi al for treatment,
he is made to wait for an hour or SC
before he can even see the clerk.
Then whole barrage Of questions
are fired at the injured worker, who
is, of course, in pain. Unless he has
brought along with him an authori-
cation from his employer or foreman
or other such person, in which the
company agrees to stand responsible
for the fees for the treatment, he
must wait another half hour or so
until the clerk decides to telephone
T. he workers employer to verify the
fact that the worker has been injured
on the job and that the worker In
fact does really work for the COM
pany. Many times the employer Will
not admit the worker is In his en-
ploy, in order to avoid paying for
the treatment. In this case the
worker must either pay himself or
remain untreated. Hospitals are
supposed to give free dispensary
treatment to the proletariat Of the
neighborhood. The treatment rem
Qe1eQ Tree dL any LOSPiN'i 40 eiS A"S''N
hasty, casual and careless which a
callous and clumsy intern can give.
OF course, full fledged doctor some
times looks on, but that is all he does.
Specialized Clinics.
The hospitals main ain specialized
clinics for each type Of ailment, such
as dental, eye and ear, nose and
throat, prenatal, orthopedic and
genito- urinary. A specialist in each
line is supposed to be in charge of
each. Each special clinic is opeI
about two hours day, two or three
days a week.
The specialist supposed to be in
charge usually arrives half hour I,
an hour late, Meanwhile mol
of keenly suffering patients hav
been sitting or standing around f.
hours. At last he great man al
rives, and alighting from his car
struts into the clinic with his nos,
in the air. The specialist looks on ap-
while an intern does tht
actual work to the best of his moi
over-great ability. Usually less thar
half of the crowd of hopeful patients
who have been sitting around fol
hours are taken care of by the time