Evening star., 1939-04-24
Plan Hospital
Control Under
Welfare Board
Proposal to Return
Jurisdiction Seen
In Senute Soon

A proposal to return control OF
the District municipal hospitals to
the jurisdiction of the Board OF
Public Welfare is expected to be
placed before the Senate soon.
The hospitals -Gallinger and the
Glenn Dale Sanitarium-are cur
rently under the Health Depart
ment, to which they were trans
ferred from the Board of Public
Welfare as of July l. 1887. This
transfer to the Health Department
was one of the reasons cited by
Welfare Director Elwood Street for
his resignation from that post as of
June Is.
Although no official confirmation
of the proposal was available at the
District Building today, it was un-
derstood that the proposed restora-
ton of the control to the Board OF
Public Welfare was definitely pend
ing. The restoration, it was learned
might be made either in the 1910
District supply bill, on which hear
ings are scheduled soon in the Sen
ate, or in separate bill.
1t was thought in some quarters
that a point of order might be
raised against changing the control
of the hospitals in an appropriation
bill. 1t is also definitely understood
that at least one Senator is con-
sidering introduction of bill to
change the supervision of the hos
pitfalls.
Controversy May Be Reopened.
The proposed move is expected to
reopen the recently closed contro-
versy between DR.. George c. Ruh-
land, District health officer, and
the presidents of Georgetown and
George Washington Universities
over control of the major wards
at Gallinger Hospital. The con-
troversy arose in connection with
efforts of the Health Department
to place its resident physicians at
the hospital over chiefs of depart
ments of the two university medical
schools
Difficulties were thought to have
been solved few weeks ago when
both sides agreed to compromise
arrangement. This arrangement
recognized the Health Department S
control over the hospital, but left
the control of the major wards
substantially with the medical
schools under certain definite rules
of service. 1t also provided for the
appointment of medical director
appointed by the health officer over
the chief visiting physicians of the
two medical schools
The compromise is reflected in the
supply bill which the Senate will
soon take up, in which is an item
providing for the new chief medical
director at salary of ~ 1900 year
Health Officials Silent.
Health Department officials de-
MED any knowledge of the pro-
posal to restore the control of the
hospitals to the Welfare Board and
declined to comment on it.
Since the compromise was signed
Representative Bates of Kentucky
has introduced a bill changing the
title of the five chief resident ply
sicians at Gallinger to chief med
ical officers" to give them civil serv-
ice ratings. The municipal hospitals
were placed under the Board of
Public Welfare following its creation
in 1926, and affairs at Gallinger
were handled by the visiting ply
sicians from the medical schools of
the two universities. The positions
Of resident physicians were not
created until after the transfer of
jurisdiction to the Health Depart
ment.
In announcing his resignation re-
Gently, Welfare Director Street in
dicated that this transfer destroyed
the unity of the Welfare Department
and changed considerably the char
acter of the work which I had
agreed to do" Mr. Street empha-
sized, however, that this was only
one of the reasons for his resigna-
ton.