Evening star., 1939-12-23
Medical Center
Program 10 Get
Study
InterdeportmentoI
Committee to Meet
Again in January

Again IN January
The new proposed program for
Federal construction of medical
centers, announced yesterday by
President Roosevelt will be taken
up for study again early in jan
uary by the Interdepartmental
Committee to Coordinate Health
and Welfare Activities.
This committee, of which Miss
Josephine Roche is chairman, had
the problem under study at its
meeting Tuesday at the Depart
ment of Agriculture, but the nature
of the program was not disclosed
at that time Miss Roche indicated
after the meeting she would make
report to President Roosevelt.
After going to her home in Dem
yer, Miss Roche, who is nationally
known businessWoman and former
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury,
is understood to have made plans
to return to Washington about jan
uary S. At that time, it is believed,
she will arrange to call her COM
mittee together as early as possible.
At the close of the session Tuesday,
she indicated the next session Of
the committee would be early In
January.
Blaisdell New Secretary.
Meantime, the Interdepartmental
Committee has obtained a new sec
retary, succeeding George st. j.
Perrott of the National Institute Of
Health, who has been secretary Of
the committee since its formation.
He has resigned on account of the
pressure of other duties. He is an
active member of the Technical
Committee on Medical Care.
The new secretary is Donald
Blaisdell, who is assistant to the
Undersecretary of Agriculture, NJ. L.
| Wilson Mr. Wilson is a member Of
the Interdepartmental Committee.
The new plan for placing federally
constructed medical centers in To-
calities where such facilities now are
inadequate probably would be sub
stitute for the more comprehensive
and more costly Wagner health bill.
The Wagner measure had been an
outgrowth of previous action of the
1nterdepartmental Committee. fol-
lowing the National Health Confer
ence here in 1888.
The Wagner bill would appropriate
funds on matching basis with the
States to extend public health serv-
ices, build hospitals, provide free
medical care for the needy. foster
research, aid medical students and
promote maternal and child welfare.
AS now drafted it would call for ex-
penditure of up to $3.50 900 900 an
nually by the end of 10 years.
Believed Less Costly.
The new proposed hospital, or
medical center program, it is be-
lleved would be much less costly
An important part of President
Roosevelts announcement which
was causing considerable discussion
today was his proposal for control of
the program. While implying a hope
that Congress would not turn such
a program into pork barrel" he
said Congress would have the right
to locate the institutions as it saw
fit. A wiser system, however, he
indicated. would be to place the
planning in the hands of competent
medical men, both local and Federal
! This system of control would be
: an important factor in determining
the attitude of organized medicine
towards such a program One ot
the most insistent principles or
which organized medicine and tn,
American Medical Association i!
! standing is that the physician shall
be master in the house of medicine
The A. n. A. has opposed all form
of state medicine, and has COM
out strongly in opposition to certain
features of the Wagner Act.
Selection of the sites for sucl
hospitals, to be built with Fedora
funds through w. P A., probabl,
with P. w. A. supervision. would b'
far in the future. The idea is fo
localities first to welcome such insti
, tutions. and then to provide for theil
, operation and maintenance, out O.
local funds.
Commenting on the hospital plan
DR.. Morris Fishbein, editor Of tn
Journal of the American Medica
Association. said at Chicago:
THE American Medical Associa'
ton has approved the development
of medical facilities where need car
be shown, with provision for loca
administration and control. 1t ha!
; opposed the grants-in-aid system a,
unfair to the poorer States which
require more help in facilities anc
service than do the wealthier States
1t is gratifying to hear the president
approve of these objectives in ths
American Medical Association
platform