Evening star., 1935-01-23
TUBERCULOS|SA|D
IN CITY HELD LAX
Full-Time Health Officers
Hired in Many Cities to
Solve Problem.
BY DIR. WILLIAM CHARLES WHITE
President OF the District OF Columbia
Tuberculosis Society.

President Of the District Of Columbia
Tuberculosis Society.
Note: This IS the second OF tuo
articles 1Critten for The Star bg
DR.. White. In addition to being
president Of the District Of Column
bia tuberculosis Association DR..
White is chairman OF the Medical
Research Committee of the Ma
tiondl tuberculosis Association. In
these articles he discusses an anti
tuberculosis program for the Dis
tTtct OF Columbia, subject Which
the anticipated reorganization Of
the District Health Department
makes OF timely interest.
The District Of Columbia is laggirg
behind many other communities
its provisions for the prevention arc
cure of tuberculosis.
This constitutes a great municipal
disease problem. Yet in no other
civic enterprise of such magnitude and
importance would We consider scat
tering authority under so many
agencies and expect to gain success.
Here We have a Board of Public
Welfare, a Health Department, and
five or six private agencies responsible
for different aspects of tuberculosis
work Other cities and counties have
solved the problem by centralizing the
activities associated with it under one
full-time officer serving under the
health commissioner. This man is
always a full-time employe, q ply
sician trained in the field, and he is
paid a sufficient salary to enable him
to devote all his attention to the task.
Specialists Duties Outlined.
Here are some of his duties:
To bring together all the activities
for the prevention and cure Of tuber-
culOSis under one plan.
To know, through the registration
records. every case of tuberculosis il
the city the household conditions in
each case. the maximum preventative
measures possible for all persons lv-
ing in contact with the patient. and
the maximum help which can be af-
forded all cases discharged from the
hospitals.
To see that the hospital and sana-
toria beds are used, so as to provide
their maximum service.
To follow up each case and see that
private physicians are kept informed
when patient is discharged from a
hospital.
To coordinate all home instruction
and visitation work, so as to prevent
overlapping.
To see that proper instructions are
provided physicians, medical students
and nurses.
To study the epidemiology of tuber-
culosis in various groups.
Three Institutions Needed.
Proper care of tuberculosis by a
community requires three units-an
observation and special service hos
pitaI, an adult hospital and a chill
dren's hospital.
The observation and special SeTv-
ice hospital, if established at Gal
linger Hospital, might well serve as
the most important link in a ncces-
sary hospital chain. but a new wing
should be provided, with full equip
ment of facilities. There should be
included a place for observation TO
determine the best treatment. sana-
torium or surgical, in each case: a
place to which the main teaching
clinic is attached, a place fully
equipped for modern surgery in tuber
culosis cases and for special treat
nent of associated maladies, easily
available to the physicians of the
city.
The need for an adult Sanatorium
of 400 beds is soon to be met by the
construction of the new S1,500,000
building at Glenn Dale alongside the
Children's Sanatorium. This last now
contains $50 beds and bids have been
let which will provide another $50
beds
GaIlinger Easy of Access.
The Importance of establishing a
| special service and observation hos
pital at Gallinger is that it will offer
easy access for the expert care Of
surgical cases and for teaching pur-
! poses. 1t is obvious that where fire.
Quent visits are desired In serious
surgical procedures the physician must
be able to reach his patient without
undue loss of time, and that the
critically i'll patient must be kept
within easy access of his relatives.
1t has been recognized for many
years that each general hospital should
have its tuberculosis wards. A recent
study in Philadelphia showed nearly
1000 known cases of tuberculosis at
tended the general hospitals there in
one year. Where no special precau-
tions are taken in these general hos
pitalS it has been repeatedly shown
that tuberculouS patients are sources
of infection to all whose duties COM
pei them continuously to work there,
such as nurses, house surgeons, med
ical students and attendants. However.
with properly organized tuberculosis
wards in general hospitals this danger
would be eliminated.
described President Roosevelt's letter
to the Labor Relations Board as a
| surrender IN the publishers at the