Evening star., 1941-01-22
Mrs. Roosevelt
Hits Hospital
Fund, Slash
Freedmen's Annex
Service Crippled by
Lack of Nurses

The new 100000 tuberculosis
annex of Freedmen's Hospital was
dedicated yesterday, but two floors
of the badly needed addition were
| locked to gather dust for at least
five months because the Govern
ment does not have enough money
| available for their maintenance.
In addition, the 80 beds on the two
floors will continue to lie idle for a
full year beginning July l unless
Congress increases the Budget Bu-
reau's recommendation on the 1912
maintenance appropriation.
These facts we're revealed by hos
pital authorities yesterday following
a speech by Mrs. Franklin D. Roose-
velt at dedication exercises of the
four-story structure in which she
revealed having communicated with
the Budget Bureau recently about a
slash in the appropriation need.
insufficient Funds for Nurses.
DR.. Lawrence w. Jackson, assistant
superintendent, and Miss Grace
Jackson, chief clerk of the institu-
ton, said that only about go of the
new units $50 beds could be filled
because there is not money avail
able to hire sufficient nurses.
Money provided in the 1941 cur
rent budget is available to hire only
Is nurses now. The 1912 recommen-
dations of the Budget Bureau pro-
vide only six additional nurses.
About 70 nurses are required to
operate the unit at capacity. How
ever, no figures were given on the
number of nurses requested of the
Budget Bureau, as hospital authori-
ties are not permitted to reveal such
items.
DR.. Jackson said that only one of
the three ward floors in the new
structure would be opened to receive
patients
Mrs. Roosevelt, in her talk, limited
that the Budget Bureau had cut
deeply into the requested sum for
maintenance when she said she had
written the bureau and had re-
ceived reply that she did not COM
pletely understand Three Budget
Bureau officials were in the audi
ence.
Addresses Remarks to McNutt.
ITO me the reply was a little COM
plicated" she said and, turning to
Federal Security Administrator Paul
v. McNutt. whose office supervises
the hospital, added, but it's prob
ably clear as day to YOU"
She explained that she under
stood there was not enough money
available for the hospital to fill
enough beds so that nurses receiving
instruction would receive a first
class rating upon their graduation.
~ am just woman and very ig-
norant about figures" she said.
Then. directing her remarks to Mr..
McNutt and the budget officers in
the room, she added: Il hope you
get together in order to serve pa
| tients not only in this city but so
that nurses and doctors who will
go to other cities can be trained as
they should"
Not only will the two locked
floors lie idle at the new annex but
expensive X-ray equipment, operat-
ing room instruments, the modern
kitchen and laundry will not be
! used to half their capacity, she
said. The equipment of the building
is valued at nearly 100000
Mrs. Roosevelt said she realized
Congress, the Budget Bureau and
others had to be persuaded to appro-
pirate the needed money but ex-
pressed the hope, that it could be
done. Money is always found to
fight wars, she continued, but that
it oftentimes was difficult to find it
for works such as the hospital.
Members of the Budget Bureau
Office at the dedication were Fred
A. Mcnamara, assistant to the di-
rector; Leonard Ahern and Ben
jamin Beecher. They were intro
duced to the assembly.
Secretary of the Interior Ickes,
as head of the old Public Works
Administration, which financed
construction of the new building,
formally presented the structure to
Mr. McNutt.
DR.. Warren F. Draper, acting
surgeon general of the United
States, promised the aid of his Or
ganization in the continuing effort
to keep Freedmen's modern and
efficient" institution.
DR.. T. Edward Jones, director in
chief of the hospital, presided.