Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-11-25
Don't GiveVets the 'Runaround, Warns
Doctor; They've Had Enough Strain

sent to the Veterans Administration for
further disqualification.
Target for Criticism
To give those men chance to re-
cover, DR.. Blain-who Is not yet out OF
a commanders uniform himself-has
been handed job that had been the
target for much of. the public criticism
of the Veterans Administration. Critics
said that men we're sent to the hospitals
and left to stare at the ceiling for the
rest of their lives, that treatment was
outmoded and sometimes brutal, that
the hospital personnel was mediocre or
worse
At present, mental patients represent
81 per cent of the patient load of the
agency's hospitals and DR.. Blain said
the percentage is increasing all the time.
1--WE intend to remedy every single
defect that has been brought before
the public" DR.. Blain said firmly, "but
we can't do it all at once. We haven't
got the personnel and we haven't got
the buildings, but we know what we're
going to do"
Borrowing Techniques
His plans call for complete overhaul
of the whole program for assisting the
mentally i'll veterans. Much Of his pro-
gram has already been approved. Some
of it has to await negotiations with med
ical schools and societies, construction
of new buildings and provision of Stats.
DR.. Blain plans to borrow" from the
armed forces many of the techniques
that brought swift recovery to flyers
suffering from combat fatigue and in
fantrymen who broke under the strain
of too much horror
Therapy Program
Here are some of the features OF his
program:
On the treatment side, soothing tub
baths will continue to be given, but bet
ter trained attendants will give them.
More units of electric shock therapy
will be installed and the techniques for
using this form of treatment will be
improved
When the man is convalescing, he will
be given something to do Even semi
invalids will be taught trades so they
can earn some money. Many of the
convalescent training ideas developed
by the Army Air Forces will be intro
duced in the mental hospitals.
REIMBURSEMENT centers" will be es-
tablshed in the agency's large general
hospitals to take care of veterans who
need some psychiatric treatment but
shouldn't be put in a mental hospital.
They will be treated "in an atmosphere
of medicine, not neurosis.'
Because anxiety and unstable emo
tions-as distinguished from actual dis
ease of an organ-can produce what
looks like a serious physical illness,
psychiatrists will be assigned to the
medical and surgical wards of mental
hospitals to treat the minds of men who
suffer just as much bodily pain as if
they were actually diseased. :.
For All Vet Hospitals
Neuro- psychiatric units will be estab-
lished in every general veterans hos
pital to take care of veterans who suffer
an acute attack of mental illness. They
will be treated Immediately in these
halfway across State, or even farther,
to mental hospital.
Also in the general hospitals, psychia-
trists will be asked to pay more atten-
ton to patients who are not suffering
from mental illness but are simply
frightened because they are about to
have an operation. DR.. Blain quoted a
surgeon as saying he would never oper-
ate on a patient who believed ahead of
time that he was going to die. Paying
more attention to the emotions of the
sick, DR.. Blain said, is new thing in
medicine which will be introduced into
all veterans hospitals.
Patients will be segregated on the
basis of illness so that those with acute
illnesses won't be in the same wards
with the chronic cases. Dr.. Blain eX-
poets that a separate mental hospital
will be built exclusively to house men
over 60 years old.
Families Can Help
The families of veterans can help
overcome some of the obstacles in the
way of recovery. DR.. Blain plans to
hold group meetings of families.
This arrangement probably will be
tried out first at Perry Point Md, where
mentally i'll veterans from the Wash
ington area are sent. After families
have spent some time with the veterans
on visiting days, they will be asked to
assemble in the hospital auditorium
where they will hear talk on how they
can help and see a movie illustrating
how man can break under the strain
of battle.
A major part of the new psychiatry
program will be outside the mental hos
pitfalls. DR.. Blain hopes that veterans
in almost every community will be able
to go to clinics where they can talk
things over occasionally with PSYCHE
artist and get rid Of some of their men,
tai burdens. Most of these mental
hygiene clinics will be made available
to veterans through arrangements with
private clinics. DR.. Blain reported that
arrangements have been made with Is
clinics and negotiations are now under
way with several hundred more.
. Here's our whole program in BRIEF"
DR.. Blain said. "Our great effort will
be to keep veterans from having to see
any psychiatrists. That's where every
family and every community can help
us. Second, if the veteran needs treat
ment, we hope to be able to treat him
in clinic so he won't have to go to q