Evening star., 1945-12-24
Bed Shortage |mperiIs
Care Of Veterans With.
Nonseryiee Ailments
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The shortage of hospitai beds 1.
SO acute that the Veterans Admin.
istration soon may have to turr
away some veterans whose disabili.
ties are not connected with war o,
military service.
THAT means, if we are to dc
anything about it, so that we car
continue to take all cases, both serv.
ice and nonservice-connected dis
abilities, the overall policy will have
to be changed" Maj. Gen. Paul r
Rawley, acting surgeon general OF
the Veterans Administration, said
yesterday. =
'The authority to do this lies
higher than the Veterans Admins
tration."
10000 Beds Borrowed"
The general announced he had
borrowed" approximately 10000
hospital beds, with medical care to
go with them, from the Army and
Navy last week. to meet the present
crisis. He also asked for two more
Army hospitals to be placed under
the Veterans Administration.
But already 87,967 veterans of all
American wars are receiving hospi-
tai or home care, an all time record.
Two-thirds of these are classed as
non-service-connected cases, and
the percentage of service connected
cases among World War II veterans
Is rising. They have priority and
will crowd non-seryice cases from
hospitals unless more space becomes
available.
I'VE expect an increase of from
10000 to 10000 patients within two
years." Gen. Hawley said.
Under our present policy and
limitation 1t will be impossible to
care for them all. We will need
more doctors and more hospitals
than are In sight at the moment"
Law Recalled.
The law says the Veterans Ad-
ministration must care for veterans
with injuries or illness traceable to
military service. Other veterans
may be accepted, with non-seryice-
connected illness or injury, If facili-
ties are available and If the vet
eran has no money to pay his own
way.
Gen. Hawley said the 10000 beds
borrowed from the Army and Navy
last week were only "stop-gaps'
because they were available on a
temporary basis. Army and Navy
doctors will attend veterans in these
beds.
In addition to these beds, the
Veterans Administration recently
took over seven Army hospitals.
But it would be a hollow gesture
II we take over any more Army
or Navy hospitals without the STATS
to man them," he said.
I'VE will need from $500 to 10000
doctors in the Veterans Admins
tration within 10 years"
5000 to Be Permanent.
He said probably about 5000 OF
these will be permanent staff ap-
pointees while the others may come
from medical schools.
The Veterans Administration
medical reorganization bill approved
last week by Congress will help
to relieve the doctor situation, Gen.
Hawley said.
This new outlook will permit us
to obtain doctors five times as fast.
and to get better ones, then ever
would have been possible under the
old setup"
Directors Pay $4,000 a Year,
The reorganization bill provides
for a director of medical service at
$4,000 a year, deputy at $11,50o
and eight assistants at $11 900 each
director of nursing at $4,000 and
deputy director at $1,000 and chiefs
OF four services-pharmacy, dietet-
les, occupational therapy and ply
sical therapy-at $1,000 each.
Authority for complete medical
and hospital service is provided
with salaries for doctors ranging
from a maximum of $1,000 down to
s3.e40. Specialists may be paid a
salary plus an extra allowance up
to 25 per cent of salary, but not
more than $1,000.