Evening star., 1944-12-20
Need for War. Nurses
Is Termed Desperate;.
Draft Urged as Cure

VIdH urged dS lure
Plans were under way today tc
relieve critical shortage of military
nurses by relaxing manpower classi-
fcations in the nursing profession
and by appealing to young graduates
TO volunteer in greater numbers
Drafting of nurses Nor the armed
forces also was urged, by several
hospital executives and members of
Congress. e
The situation was discussed yes
terday afternoon by. the Nursing
Council for War Services at 1746 K
street NV. The hospital and nurs-
ing executives present heard from
Col. Florence A. Blanchfield, super
intendent of the Army Nurse Corps
a warning that the need for nurses
was so desperate" there was danger
wounded soldiers would be let down
on their return to this country for
further treatment.
Thus far, Col. Blanchfield said.
wounded men have received splendid
care In the war zones, but so great
was the demand for nurses there
that 1t had been necessary to- curtail
the personnel of military hospitals
in this country.
Number of Patients Doubles.
There is a great deal of luxury
nursing among civilians, she added.
and not much can be done about it
except to appeal to the public to
avoid keeping nurses unless it is
absolutely necessary.
The number of patients in United
States military hospitals, Col.
Blanchfleld pointed, out, has more
than doubled in two months, and
so great is the need overseas that
the Army has had to send 10 per
cent of its nurses into foreign
service.
The type of care has changed as
the battles grew in intensity, she
explained, with medical and neuro-
psychiatric cases replaced to large
extent by surgical cases. Many of
the returned men require constant
attention, she said, even those able
to walk and appear recovered to
casual observers. ~
Col. Blanchfield said some nurses
have been in battle zones 30 months
and should be relieved and brought
home. She also cited number who
had been in the Southwest Pacific
since shortly after Pearl Harbor. In
stead of being sent home as they
deserved, they had to be transferred
to even worse hardships in the In
dia Burma China theater.
Volunteer System Hit.
Lately, she reported, it had been
necessary to send hospital units to
Europe without nurse. because
there were none available
Col. Blanchf1eld blamed the War
Manpower Commission for holding
the quota of nurses for the armed
forces to 10000 in November, 1943.
1t was six months before VINO
raised the quota to $4,000, she said,
and meanwhile the public got the
impression that there were enough
military nurses.
Several at the meeting suggested
that nurses be drafted, declaring
the volunteer system had failed. A
majority of the executives, however, I
doubted that Congress would au--
thorize national service act and
felt the emphasis should be placed
on a patriotic appeal.
Plans for a public meeting to
honor foreign service nurses and
thus stimulate interest in the prob
lens were disclosed by the presiding
officer, Mrs. Josephine B. Prescott,
director of the Bureau of Public
Health Nursing, District Health De-
partment. She said the meeting may
be early in January.
Can Not Volunteer.
Miss Edith Beattie, executive sec
retary of the Graduate Nurses As
sociation, and others defended the
younger nurses eligible for military
service. They pointed to the large
number who had volunteered and
to the fact that they had personal
problems like other women, often
children to care for, and they were
not always in position to volunteer.
Miss Gertrude Boiling suggested
that nurses now in classification ga
essential until relieved-be placed
In IA, available for the armed
forces, so that Red Cross recruiting
officers could appeal to them.
Most of those present agreed that
VINO should so relax its classifca-
tions.
Meanwhile, Representative Rogers,
Republican, of Massachusetts said
she would introduce a bill author
izing the drafting of nurses if volun-
tary recruiting continues to be in
adequate.
Basil O'Connor. chairman of the
American Red Cross. said 14,O0O
nurses must be obtained for the
Army and Navy even if it incon-
veniences civilians.
It may be necessary, he warned,
to curtail all except the most essen
tial civilian care to meet the i'm
perative need of 10000 nurses for
the Army and 1000 for the Navy
Immediately.
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