Evening star., 1938-03-03
BY GARNETT d. HORNER.

Construction of new buildings at
Gallinger Hospital and other steps
to provide a total of $50 additional
hospital beds for Washington's indi-
gent sick was urged as one of the
major points in six-year program
for improvement of District health
standards submitted to the Commits
sioners today by United States Public
Health Service experts.
The program, drawn up after
three-month survey of health condi-
tons in the District, also called for:
A separate building adequate for
housing the various scattered ac-
tivities of the Health Department.
Decentralization of the Health
Departments activities. with con-
struction Of at least three health
centers whose activities would be
co-ordinated with local medical
schools
ITO Additional Nurses.
Additional personnel, including
full-time directors for eight ac-
tivities, 10 additional public
health nurses, and eight more
trained sanitary inspectors.
Especial intensiication Of ef-
forts for the control of syphilis,
tuberculosis, cancer, pneumonia,
dipntheria and reduction of the
maternal and infant mortality.
The report also recommended that
for the time being at least the chill
dren's building at Glenn Dale Tuber-
culosis Sanitarium be used exclusively
for child patients. Controversy de-
veloped last fall when DR.. Rutland
transferred some adult patients into
the children's building. He a,er
moved them back to the adult Guild
ing.
Definite opposition to the proposed
purchase of the old Homeopathic Hos
pital as substitute for the construc-
ton of the first of the proposed series
OF health centers was registered by the
health experts in the body of the ex-
tended report.
DR.. Parran announced that the ex-
perts had concluded that the old hos
pital building was not suitable either as
a public hospital or as a health center.
DR.. Parran announced also that his
survey experts had recommended the
adoption of an entirely new lunacy law
Tor the District. He characterized the
Jury system of trial of persons believed
to be Of unsound mind to be a medic
val and archaic" practice and sug-
gested congressional action on pro-
posals for the creation of a mental
health commission as a substitute.
The medical experts did not estimate
the cost of the hospital construction
program suggested in the report.
Surg. Gen. Thomas Parran and Asst.
Surg. Gen. Robert Olesen, who d.
rected the work of a score of Public
Health Service experts on the local
survey requested early last December
by the Commissioners, submitted the
1our-volume report to Commissioner
Melvin C. Hazen and Health Officer
George c. Rutland, in the Commits
sioners' Office today.
Mr Hazen said the Commissioners
would not take any action on the re-
port until Commissioner George E.
Allen, in charge of the Health De-
partment, who is out of the city for
several days, returns to his office.
Meantime it was referred to DR.. Ruh-
land for study.
Four Units of Beds.
Dt. Paran said that to raise the
District hospital facilities to the min
imum considered desirable would re-
quire four new units of hospital beds.
He recommended provision of 100
beds at Gallinger Hospital for children,
who now are housed in an old building
which once was abandoned and is
considered Inadequate for the care Of
children now: $50 beds for general
patients at Gallinger; $50 beds for
tuberculosis patients at Gallinger, and
(Coe HOCpTTATC poro A2N