Evening star., 1939-05-26
Children 5 Hospital
Opens Fund Drive
To Avoid Deficit
Of 65. 900 Cored for
Eoeh Year, IS Pct.
Are Churity Coses

Faced with a deficit which. is
running about $27 900 a year, Chill
dren's Hospital is appealing to its
friends and supporters for funds to
enable it to continue its annual care
Of about IS 900 children, IS per cent
OF whom are charity patients.
The appeal is taking the form of
mail communications from the Ways
and Means Committee of the hos
pital, headed by Thomas B. Sweeney
chairamn and Rear Admiral David
r. Sellers, vice chairman.
Miss Matte Gibson, superintend-
ent Of the hospital, explained that
one reason for the deficit of the in
stitution is that so large a part of it
is operated on charity basis. Out
Of 200 beds in the hospital, she said,
only n are for pay patients. Most
of the little sufferers are treated
at no expense to them or their
parents, and many pay only a
nominal sum, which by no means
covers the actual cost.
Part OF the cost of some of the
treatments is provided for by the
Community Chest, which purchases
care for some of its patients, Miss
Gibson explained, but the Chest
does not pay enough to cover the
actual cost of care for the patients
1t sends to the hospital.
Not Members of Chest.
As a result of an amicable ar
rangement with the Chest, Chill
dren's and all other hospitals in the
city are no longer member agencies
OF the Community Chest.
The Chest" she said, buys hos
pital care from us in the same way
in which it would buy any commod-
1ty from any other organization or
business. Hospitals have not been
handled by the Chest on a budget
or deficiency basis"
Furthermore" she added, due to
lack OF funds, it has been a long
time since the Chest has been able
to pay more than a percentage of
the cost of the service it buys from
u.s."
Herbert L. Willett, jr., director of
the Chest, today officially approved
the hospital fund campaign. Mr..
Willett explained the hospitals
men} }>erships in the Chest were can
celeo in order to give them the
freedom to conduct their own drives
for funds.
Canuot CnntroI Ala
The hospitals, Mr.. Willett ex-
planned, are not in a position of
members Of the Chest, who can
control their intake" While clubs
and settlement houses and other
such member agencies of the Chest
can control the amount of service
they give, to fit their budgets, he
said, the hospital has no way of
controlling how much sickness there
Is to be, how much Of a load will
be thrust upon it and how much it
may have to spend for relief of
suffering.
Miss Gibson, in stressing the
financial need of the institution. ex-
planned the hospital must keep
faith" with those who since 1870
have contributed of their time and
means. Furthermore, she added:
We owe something to the sick and
crippled children who come here for
health and help; we owe something
to the trades people who for months
have trusted us for the supplies that
have made the daily operation of the
hospital possible"
Scientific advances in medicine
have greatly increased efficiency of
hospital treatment, Miss Gibson de-
clared, pointing to the increasing
number of patients treated, and a
contrasting decrease In the number
OF deaths. The hospital now has