Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-20
HOSPITAL RATES
FOR CHILDREN CUT
UNDER NEW PLAN
Flat Charge Is Adopted TO
Benefit Families of Mod
crate Means.
ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS
INCREASED ACTIVITIES
6,l47 Treated During Past Year,
While Visits to Dispensary
Gain-21,O 900 Registered.

TO help the great group of people in
washington with moderate incomes
give necessary hospital care TO thar
sick and suffering children, a new and
cheaper series Of "part-pay" or nat
rates has been adopted by Children's
This new schedule Charts at AZ mar
cay, and includes rates also Of S2.6O a
Gay and up. 1t viii make it possible
Ior people OF small means to have their
cnliuren cared for In both the medical
ana surgical departments of the hos
pital without appealing to charity.
coming at time when the question
OF the high cost Of medical care Is one
OF the outstanding problems facing the
sociologlstS and medical societies Of
the country, this cut In rates for the
persons OF moderate means Is expected
20 De welcomed by thousands who in
tne past have felt too proud to appeal
20 charity, and too poor to pay full
The benefit to Washington children
= expected to be incalcillabIe, especially
70 the rank and f1le Of Government EN-
ployes In the moderate income classes.
tnere are more than $4,000 Federal
workers here.
The new rates fall within the eata-
CORY OF most Of the work done by the
hospital under cost" At the present
time, 1t is estimated by Miss Matte M.
Gibson, superintendent, that as ner
cent OF the care given at the institu-
ton is under cost"
But the new nat rates viii contribute
something toward the cost Of taking
care OF patients. This actual cost. Miss
Gibson states, according to the latest
figures is now $4.02 per day, per patient.
The difference between what the part
pay patients contribute to the cost and
the actual cost itself is to be borne BY
the Community Chest contribution 70
the support Of the hospital.
There are four general classes Of
patients cared for by Children's Hos
pital-free service to those who cannot
afford to pay. the ''part-pay," which
Is to 6e known as private ward pay;
Although Gallinger Hospital is tax
ing some of the INDECENT cases, Cal
linger Is not yet able to take care of
all Of this type Of cases, so Children's
Hospital Is still burdened with many
of these.
Number Of Patients Gains.
The activities Of Children's Hospital
are still on the gain, 1t Is shown in an
nual figures Just compiled. The total
number Of patieats treated In the house
increased from $3.50 for the hospital
year 1928 to 3,796 for the hospital
year 1929 and to STAT for the hospital
year 1880, ending october 81.
The total number of visits TO the
dispensary also is on the upgrade. In
creasing from 1884 in 1928 to 1908
in 1929 to 29,625 IN 1890. The cost
per visit to the dispensary now Il S.
cents. There are 81 900 children regis
tered at the dispensary. Some visitors
pay q small fee, but those who cannot
afford even this are treated free.
Over In the Child Welfare DEPART
ment In another wing Of the hospital
where the Child welfare Society Board
Of Children's Hospital operates on Q
program to Keep the Well Child Well"
1,101 cases are registered.
Home visits and follow-up work on
the cases brought to the dispensary and
to the Child Welfare Department are
made, in order to keep the BENEFITS de-
rived from visits to these two parts Of
the hospital.
Other Features Of Report.
In the hospital itself, known as the
house." during the past year the max
in1um days census was 1873 patients and
the minimum 90. The number of en1er-
BencleS treated $1,000 az $3.50. The
number Of visits to the child welfare
department was 1921.
Other features Of the annual report
for 1880 include: Social service visits
made, 1881; number Of food demonstra-s
tions, 1877; attendance at food demon
STATIONS, 2,106 number of operations
performed, 2,448; average length of pa
tieut's stay, TO days; daily average
number of patients, Ill plus.
The wide scope of Children's Hospital
and its service is shown by its principal
departments" including medical, sur
gtcal, child welfare, orthopedic, dispen-
sary, food laboratories, dental, patho-
logical, X-ray and social service.
The clinics of the dispensary include
the following: Medical, surgical, ear.
nose and throat, skin, eye, genito-uro-
logical, heart, neurological, dental, mas
sage, orthopedic, leutic, social service,
x-ray, and ultra violet ray.
Plans now are being made for the
sixtieth anniversary of Children's Hos
pttal, on December 2, when the incor-
poration birthday anniversary of the In
stitution will be celebrated. There win
be the regular meeting Of the board Of
trustees at the hospital, and reports win
be rendered.