Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-14
What Would You Do?

If your child Is stricken suddenly with
some terrifying form of mysterious Ill
ness, or if your child is the victim of
an accident. you must remember, dear
parent. that there are certain rules and
regulations laid down for the conduct
of hospitals which must not be violated.
Instead, therefore, Of placing your child
in an automobile and rushing to the
nearest hospital you must first deter
mine whether your child Is afflicted
with a contagious disease; whether you
can afford to enter your child as a
pay patient" and, If not, whether you
have first made suitable arrangements
| with the Board of Public Welfare for
obtaining a permit, or blank form OF
some sort properly filled out, that Will
assure the child's reception.
Is that an unfair. or harsh, conclu-
sion? Is it not true that any hospital
will provide, promptly and efficiently
necessary flrst-aid treatment and tender
care for a sick or injured child?
Three cases of children who were
sent from hospital to hospital and re-
fused admittance, on one ground or
another, have been described in the
newspapers. In two of the cases the
children died and it cannot be assumed
that it would have been possible, under
any conditions, to save their lives. In
each case there may have been excel
lent reasons for the actions taken by
the hospital authorities. But the ex-
plantations remain merely explanations.
There is no excuse for the existence OF
conditions that these three cases have
presented.
Place yourself in the position OF the
frantic parents who rushed to the near
est hospital, Sibley, with a child OF
five, badly burned. There, after the ad-
ministration of first aid, you are told
that as the child, on your own assers
ton, has been suffering from whoop-
ing cough, the child must be removed
to another institution, where conta-
gious ward is maintained. You stand
counting the minutes while arrange
ments are made through the Health
Department for transfer Of the child in
a Health Department ambulance. In
desperation you finally take the child
in your own car to Garfield. In your
ignorance you go to the wrong entrance.
One department of the hospital has
been notified of your case. but the other
has not. And the great dilemma Is
finally ended when you are directed to
take the child to Children's Hospital.
Or take the case of the child with
symptoms that the lay parents recog-
nized as lock1aw. Emergency Hospital,
administering a hypodermic, sends the
child to Children's; Children's sends
the patient to Gallinger. At Gallinger,
an hour or so later, anti-tetanus Is ad-
ministered.
Or take the case of the child rushed
by his parents to Children's. No per-
NIT from the Board of Public Welfare
and the child must be rushed to CAL
linger. At Gallinger the physician de-
cides that the case is not an emergency
case. therefore as the rules provide that
when a case is not an emergency case
the patient cannot he admitted without
properly filled out blank forms. The
parents return home. The child, hap
PLY, RECEIVERS.
There may be reasonable explana-
lions for all this. But there is no con-
vincing excuse. Can the Health De-
partment. or the Board OF Public We'll
fare, or the hospitals inform parents
what to do in an emergency; how to
Avoid this cruel rushing from one hos
pital to another in the future?