Evening star., 1944-07-28
SOCIETY AND GENERAL NEWS
WASHINGTON, D. G.
tuberculosis Hospital
To Release Is We'll
On Road 10 Recovery
Upshur Street Institution
Will Take Patients From
Glenn Dale and GoIIinqer

Twenty-Five to 80 patients at Up
shur Street Hospital who are well
on the road to recovery" from tu-
berculosis will be sent home in the
near future, DR.. Daniel L. Seckin-
ger, acting superintendent of Gal
linger and Upshur Street Hospitals,
said yesterday.
This step will be taken as one Of
10 recommendations made by health
officials to handle the tuberculosis
problem and to relieve Glenn Dale
Sanatorium, where there is serious
personnel shortage.
With space thus made available
at Upshur Street Hospital. non-
communicable patients will be
transferred from Glenn Dale and
.Gallinger, with plans calling for
closing of women's ward at Glenn
Dale. Actually, DR.. Seckinger said,
the plan will mean that patients
will 60 to Upshur Street "a little
earlier than previously" and that
rehabilitation" work will be
speeded.
Drop in Glenn Dale Patients.
According to Health Officer
George C. Rutland, who submitted
the recommendations after confer
ences with other officials, the Up
shur Street Hospital will care for
inciplent tuberculosis patie It S.
While he said no positive cases will
be taken there, those in the early
stages of the disease will be sent
to the branch hospital.
Already, the population of Glenn
Dale has fallen from 608 to 52l.
according to DR.. Daniel L. Finu-
cane, superintendent, but the num-
ber should eventually reach 400.
Lack of staff and failure in recruit
ing volunteer assistants has resulted
in the threatened closing of one
building. Under recent decision
to admit only emergency cases.
only two patients have been ad-
mitted.
Meanwhile. the newly established
bus service, designed as an incen-
tive for recruitment of permanent
workers and volunteers. was to
start at am. today from Mount
Rainier, Md, where it will use the
Capital Transit Co. terminal. The
service from Upper Marlboro, Md,
will not start until next week.
The Mount Rainier-G Dale
bus will make five round trips day,
6 am. am, 3:45 pm, $50 and
GAS pm.
Other Recommendations.
Among the other recommended
tions made by health officials and
approved yesterday by the Commis-
slonerS were:
Nonresident tuberculosis cases
should besent to their home States;
Federaf'-s appointees should be
X-rayed in their home States be-
fore coming to Washington; two
wards at Freedmen's Hospital
should be reopened; reappointment
of public health nurses and as
signment of housekeeping aides to
care for patients at home and a
requirement that no patient be
sent home who is a menace to the
public health"
The statement by DR.. Rutland
accompanying the program said
only q volunteers had applied as
nurses assistants and that about
half were rejected as susceptible to
the disease Although he said the
volunteer program had broken
down, he praised the efforts of the
Red Cross, American Women's S
Voluntary Services and the Volun-
teer Office of Civilian War Services
A survey of possible tuberculosis
facilities was made by DR.. A. Barklie
Coulter, head of the Bureau for
tuberculosis of the Health Depart
ment. at the request of DR.. Ruh-