Evening star., 1945-02-07
Civilian Need
OF Nurses Cited
AT Hearing
Hospital Spokesman
Urges VINO Be Giver
Power to Allocate
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES

AAS AASboS 3SAAAtaAy 4dAo SVllA~
mittee was urged today by DR.. Don
aid c. Smezer, president of the
American Hospital Association, to
place before Congress legislation
drafting nurses under a plan that
would assure an adequate number
for the armed forces and essential
civilian needs.
DR.. Smelzer suggested that the
procurement and assignment serv-
ice Of the War Manpower Commits.
sion be given authority to assign
nurses where they were most needed
He said this service already had
done a good job in classifying
nurses, but "has no teeth-no au-
thority."
While the Navy believes it can re-
cruit enough volunteer nurses to
meet its present and future needs,
its Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
realizes the critical shortage which
the Army faces and for that reason
supports legislation to draft nurses,
the committee was told. This view
was expressed by Rear Admiral w.
j. G. Agnew. assistant surgeon gen.
eral of the Navy.
Worked Out Doctor Problem.
Celebrating the position of the
American Hospital Association, DR..
Smelzer said the VINO had worked
out satisfactorily the problem of
dividing essential doctors between
the armed forces and civilian prac-
tice. But the nursing problem has
not been solved, he pointed out, be-
cause VINO has had no power to
enforce It's findings.
Il wish to urge your favorable ac-
ton on Federal legislation which will
lead to more orderly distribution
of nurses between military services
and essential civilian requirements,
he said
DIR. Smelzer was asked by COM
mittee members his opinion of two
pending bills, one introduced by
Chairman May, the other by Repre-
sentative Rogers. Republican, of
Massachusetts,. He did not feel that
either bill entirely met the situa-
ton. He said the May bill would
draft enough nurses for the Army
and Navy, but leave the civilian
needs entirely without considera-
ton. He felt that whatever bill the
committee favored could be amend
ed to provide some medium, pref
erably the procurement and assign
ment service, with sufficient author
ity to solve the whole problem.
Civilian Nurse Shortage.
Emphasizing that the Army's
needs must come first, DR.. Smelzer
pointed to a acute shortage in civil
ian nursing also He said graduate
nurses in civilian hospitals were
washing dishes because there was no
one else to do it.
&. He favored requiring the registra-
ton of all nurses capable of active
duty of any kind, even those past As.
The older nurses, he said, would be
welcome in civilian hospitals.
I'm fact" he added, I'VE are taking
every nurse who has two arms and
two legs"
Admiral Agnew said the Navy had
more than 5000 nurses at present
and would need about II 500 by June
l. At the present rate of apphca-
tions, he saw no difficulty in obtain
ing the necessary nurses by volun-
tary recruiting.
THE Army has much more seri-
Gus problem, he conceded, "and for
hat reason we are supporting this
legislation"
Admiral Agnew said in response to
a question that the Navy could meet
its needs more regularly under
selective service law for nurses.
ID Navy May Modify Rule.
Asked why the Navy, in the face
of the serious nurse shortage, still
clung to its regulation against ac-
cepting married nurses, he said q
new rule allowing married nurses
Ito be commissioned was under con-
sideration and would be submitted
soon to Secretary Forrestal.
I. DR.. Thomas Parran, surgeon gen.
eral of the United States Public
Health Service, who was the only
witness yesterday, said in response
to questions by committee members
that he did not think young nurses
were entirely to blame for the short
age of nurses.
II don't think they're slackers," he
said. They've had nobody to tell
them who should go and who should
not"
!. DR.. Parran urged selective service
for nurses-a plan under which a
designated authority would detail
certain ones for military service and
others for essential civilian places
rather than only a law allowing
their induction into the armed forces.
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