Evening star., 1943-09-15
Senate Group
Approves Probe
Of Ga||inger
Rules Investigation
ShuII Be Conducted
By Federal Agency

By Federal Agency
A sweeping investigation of condi-
tlons at Gallinger Hospital as called
Tor In a resolution introduced by
Chairman McCarran was approved
unanimously today by the Senate
District Committee.
Less than "a hours after Senator
McCarran introduced the resolution
the committee ordered it sent to the
Senate for immediate consideration
and decided the inquiry should be
made by the United States Public
Health Service or some other quail
fled and "disintereSted' Federal
agency
Senator McCarran said he would
contact the Public Health Service
without delay to find out whether it
could undertake the investigation
He also plans to seek Senate action
on the resolution today.
Acted on Petition.
The inquiry vas proposed by Sen
ator McCarran after he received a
protest petition signed by 149 pa
tientS in the tuberculosis ward OF
the hospital. stating the food served
them was improperly prepared, that
cereals contained weevils, the meat
smelled high" and that sanitary
| conditions in the toilets and other
places were not up to modern stand
| ards.
Senator McCarran told the COM
| mittee that in view of the large num-
Der of patients who signed the petit
ton of protest, he believed an in
vestigation should be made imme-
| diately, and for that reason intro
duced the resolution as soon as
Congress reconvened after its sum-
mer recess.
The resolution provides for gen.
eral investigation with particular
reference to sanitation, food, diet
and treatment and care of tubercu-
losis patients.
Senator McCarran said he believed
I the Public Health Service would be
the best qualified and disinterested
Federal agency to make the inquiry
since it already had set up stand
| ards for food, service and SANTA
ton in hospitals.
The Commissioners and hospital
officials said yesterday they would
welcome" formal investigation
by the committee, If it saw fit to
order one.
Commissioner Mason announced
instructions already had been given
to health and hospital officials to
correct at once any conditions that
can be cured now" He added:
There is no excuse for weevils or
reaches or filth"
For more permanent correction,
he indicated the commissioners
would continue their fight for pri-
critics to permit enlargement of the
hospital kitchen. Hospital officials
had explained the kitchen had been
constructed and equipped to feed
300 patients and that the hospital
now has between 1,4OO and 1900
patients.
Congress approved appropriations
during the past fiscal year for en-
largement of the hospital kitchen
but so far the Commissioners have
been unable to obtain sufficiently
high priorities from the WPB to
do the work.
Interview Patients.
Partial support for complaints
against food and insanitation in
the tuberculosis wing was found yes
terday by Charles Stofberg and Miss
Anne w. Davidge, administrative
aides to Commissioners Young and
Mason. After interviewing a num-
Der of patients and hospital officials,
they reported:
Generally speaking, there is some
| Justification for the complaints re-
garding the dietary cleanliness and
service at the hospital. This is due
to large extent to the shortage of
help, rationed food products and
| other factors incident to the war"
| DR. Edgar A. Bocock, hospital su-
perintendent. was quoted as saying
the complaints apparently were
brought about by the following "dif-
| flculties": 1.-The tuberculosis pa
tient who is confined to bed for
prolonged period is oftimes critical
and hard to please; 2-there exists
shortage of employees, and the type
of employees obtainable compares
unfavorably with those available in
normal times specifically, he said
there were 16 vacancies among the
custodian force and 81 vacancies
among nurses for the hospital as
whole; 3-deliverieS of food prod
uctS are not up to par, 4-the in
ability (of the hospitaD to obtain
beef and poultry: and Slack of
adequate food storage facilities in
the main kitchen.
Dr. Bocock denied that any patient
has suffered 'at any time" due to
lack OF food. He agreed substitute
foods had to be used lin many in
stances" because the hospital could
not always get what it ordered, but
| insisted the food always was prop
erly prepared, Was palatable and
contained the proper ingredients"
to promote the health of patients.
DR.. Bocock also denied any pa
tient was deprived of milk at any
time, but told the Commissioners
aides there was shortage of dishes
at the hospital, that despite urgent
cooperative efforts by the District
Purchasing office the hospital so far
had received but relatively small
amount of large orders placed last
May for extra cups, bowls, plates
and saucers.
DR.. Charles Powell Cake. chief
resident physician for tuberculosis,
declared the corridors and rooms
and the bathrooms were cleaned
once each day; that the linens on
the beds, as we'll as the towels, were
changed twice a week.
Blames Other Patients.
One of the patients interviewed
by Mr.. Stofberg and Miss Davidge
insisted the bathrooms were dirty
''at times" but that this was due
largely to the patients themselves. u
DR.. Cake explained that only
patients who are well enough