Evening star., 1940-03-07
Physicians Report
Spurs Plan 10 Act on
Aged Home Promptly
Allen to Confer With
District Health and
Welfare OfficioIs Today

Districts widely condemned Home
for the Aged and Inf1rm advanced
another step today as municipal
u1icials prepared to act promptly
On the sweeping changes recon-
amended by special board Of ply
sicians following medical exam
nation of the institutions Sol
inmates.
Commissioner George E. Allen met
this morning with Welfare Director
Robert E. Bondy, Health Oficer
George c. Rutland and DR.. Edgar
A. Bocock. superintendent of Gal
linger Hospital, for a preliminary
discussion of how best to carry out
the physicians recommendations.
They conferred for about an hour,
then recessed until o'clock this aft
ernoon, when DR.. Rutland, DIR.
Bocock and Mr.. Bondy will tackle the
problem again. No announcement
was made concerning what progress
was made at the conference with
Mr.. Allen.
Meanwhile, attention also was TO-
cused anew on the city's penal in
stitutions as result OF report
by James v. Bennett, director Of
the Federal Bureau of Prisons, rec
ommending reorganization of exist
ing facilities to make for a unified
and integrated correctional system
in the District.
Mr.. Benefits study, discussion
of the broad problems touching the
administration of the city's penal
system, was requested by Repre-
sentative D'Alesandro, acting chair
man of the Public Health Subcom-
mittee of the House District Com
mittee, after his recent visit to
Lorton Reformatory.
Transfer of So Recommended.
The Blue Plains report, submitted
to Welfare Director Bondy yester-
day, branded the Home for the Aged
and Infirm as a refuge for virtually
all types of untortunates, and urged
transfer of 50 ailing patients of the
home to other institutions. 1t also
called for at least one full-time
medical officer, increases in the
nursing medical attendant stats and
new medical and surgical equipment.
Commissioner Allen said that,
while he hadn't had an opportunity
to read the entire report, he was
anxious to get started on plans to
rectify the conditions uncovered by
the three staff physicians Of Gal
linger Hospital who conducted the
survey.
IF the situation is as bad as they
picture it," said Mr.. Allen. then
something must be done right
away"
After making public the physi-
clans report, Mr.. Bondy said con-
ferences would be held soon with
heads of all the institutions which
would be involved in the transfers
recommended in the report. The
recommendations, he said, are in
accord with a policy that he be-
lieves should be followed for ad-,
mission. to and care Of people at the
Home for the Aged. For decades,
he d6slafed, The home has been a
dumping gyQymds for all kinds Of
Some Already Transferred. ~
Where institutional facilities per-
nit, transfers will be made as soon
as tossible- IN u-accordanee with the
hyacianx-fecommendattons Five
cases.-weretransferred 70 Gallinger
while the Inquiry was+-nnder way.
m ADDITION to these. the physicians
urged transfer Of IA more to GAL
linger for complete medical study,
16 cases of chronic neurological
diseases referred to suitable hos
pitals, 10 apparently psychotic in
mates transferred to suitable in
stitution, 81 feeble e-minded patients
be considered for transfer to more
suitable institutions and 8 epileptic
cases removed to other institutions.
If the Districts penal system were
reorganized and developed into a
unified whole, Mr.. Bennett pointed
out, the District could house all
types of offenders without depend
ing on the Federal Correctional
System to incarcerate those who are
now being held in Federal institu-
tions for lack of proper facilities
here.
The unified system, Mr.. Bennett
said, would include an administra-
tive unit, house of detention or Jail,
which would include receiving and
classification unit, place for youth
full offenders, place for adult Of
tenders, which would include q
maximum security unit; work
farm for the misdemeanor group
and a place for women offenders.
The completion of the new jail
and the acquisition of funds to open
the new group of buildings included
in the walled unit at Lorton Re-
formatory were seen by Mr.. Ben
nett as the most important elements
in accomplishing the unified pro-
gram he suggested.