Evening star., 1944-12-21
Health Department,
School Board Split
On Medical Service

DlooCllSlOil UcIWctL tlle DEStIlCI
Health Department and the Board
of Education over the medical pro-
lection of pupils had f1ared into open
disagreement today. The Board of
Education has formally protested to
the department that its service to
pupils is unsatisfactory" and will
continue to be so until three va
cancies on the doctors staff and as
among the nursing staff are filled.
DR.. Joseph A. Murphy, chief of
the school medical inspection staff
of % doctors, commented that he
expected full service" would be
resumed next month when two of
the three doctor vacancies will be
filled. The third vacancy is due to
the illness of doctor, DR.. Murphy
said.
Mrs. Josephine Prescott, chief of
the nursing service, said, however,
that she was barely able to hold the
staff of 142 nurses to it's present
level of 26 vacancies. About 18 per
cent of the positions have been
steadily vacant for eight months,
she said.
Differ on Estimates.
School and health officials differ
sharply on their estimates of the
number of pupils without care. The
Health Department says only 1874
lack a medical inspector. School
principals reported to a board meet
ing yesterday about 1907 have had
no medical inspection so far this
year. Several schools reported they
never have had inspection in the
memory of the principals.
DR.. Murphy, asked for comment,
said that the difference between his
figures, sent to Supt. of Schools
Robert L. Haycock two weeks ago,
and those gathered from school
principals yesterday could be ex-
planned by a simple difference in
terms. The Health Department
tries to inspect each child once a
year and terms as neglected only
those children who have no doctor
assigned to them. The school prin-
cipals, on the other hand, he said,
reported pupils who had not as yet
received their annual visit from
their regularly assigned inspector.
Difficulties of transportation and
the double load thrown on the 26
doctors now available, he said, have
spread thin" the service to pupils.
DR.. Murphy pointed out that his staff
covers 21l private, public and pa
rochial schools, with a combined en-
rollment of 100000 children. That
about $4,000 of the $1,000 public
school children have not yet been
examined, he said, is only natural in
view of the wartime difficulties. No
figures are available on how MANY
OF the approximately $4,000 private
and parochial school children have
not yet been examined.
Committee to Study Details.
The board also announced that
at the request of the District
Commissioners and the Veterans
Administration it will serve as the
accrediting body for Washington
educational institutions wishing to
train servicemen under the provi-
sions OF the "GI Bill of Rights" 4"
Local colleges, business and trade
schools will all have to fill out a
QUESTIONABLE on their qualifications
and be inspected by committee of
school officers and board members
before they are recommended to the
Veterans Administration, it was in
dicated.
Details of the QUESTIONABLE and
lof establishing machinery to ac-
credit the institutions will be studied
by special committee Of the board.
appointed at the board meeting yes
terday by Mrs. Henry Grattan DOYLE.
president. They are DR.. Robert A,
Maurer, vice president of the board
and chairman of the committee; c.
Melvin Sharpe and John A. Wilson.
The board made public a letter
received early this week from Com
missioner John Russell Young. say
ing that the Veterans Administra-
ton wished some District agency to
select qualified and equipped" edu-
cational institutions whose names
will be submitted to veterans apply
Ing for education at Government ex-
pense. The Commissioners consid-
cred the board the appropriate"
agency, Commissioner Young wrote.
A survey Of the school telephone
service was undertaken at the re-
ellest of Adelhert w YAa