Evening star., 1945-07-07
Commissioners Asked
To Permit Closing
OF GaIIinger Ward

Heath officials today formally
requested permission of the COM
missioners to close the second floor
of the Gallinger Municipal Hos
pitfalls tuberculosis building because
OF the shortage in nursing personnel.
Commissioner Guy Mason said
that he would not authorize the step
until the matter had been placed
before the entire board of Com
missioners, probably on Tuesday.
A request for closing the floor
came in the form of memorandum
bearing the signatures of Health
Officer George C. Rutland and DR..
Daniel L. Seckinger, deputy health
officer who was acting head OF
Gallinger until yesterday.
Shortage in Personnel.
The report said that it has be-
come necessary to request the clos
ing because of the extreme short
age in nursing personnel"
They said there were AZ patients
on the floor, % of whom are white
women and l9 colored women.
Provision can be made to take
care of the colored women and
about half of the white women by
transferring them to another floor
or to the Upshur Street Hospital,
The officials reported that they were
attempting to arrange for the trans
fer of the remaining white women
to Glenn Dale Sanatorium, but
that this had proven the principal
obstacle up to the present time.
OflcialS said that they should be
In a position to make these changes
about Tuesday of next week and
that they we're asking for approval
so that arrangements could be
made.
Threatens to Resign.
The situation has been compi-
Gated, 1t was learned today, by the
threatened resignation of DR.. David
Leibobicie. medical officer OF Up
shur street.
Health and budget officials, 1t is
understood, are trying to work out
an increase in salary for the medical
officer.
DR.. Sol Katz, medical officer in
charge of the tuberculosis patients,
said he felt that it was impossible
to give them proper nursing care
with the present shortage of nurses
and aides.
The second floor, which has white
and colored women, was selected as
the floor to be closed because there
are less women than men on the
waiting list of at least Al active
tuberculosis cases.
Closing Held Necessary.
DR.. Rutland said today that
Gallinger was confronted with the
same situation that Glenn Dale
Sanatorium was last summer, when
it had to close part of its
wards. Closing of the Gallinger
ward appears to be the only
possibility, DR.. Rutland said, add
ing that you have to shorten
sail in a storm" If this change is
made there will still be full floor
for colored women at Gallinger.
Any emergency cases of white wom-
en- could be put on the top floor of
the building, DR.. Katz said. He
added the situation at Gallinger had
been critical for some time.
The wards lack "a of the SO nurses
required, according to DR.. Katz,
who said there we're only 13 nurses
available yesterday for a 24-hour
period to care for 203 patients. DR..
Katz has been the only doctor on
duty for six months.
I76 Beds Closed"
Glenn Dale Sanatorium already
has 176 beds closed" The sana-
torium has asked the Commission
ers to permit it's nurses, doctors and
dietary workers to work more than
40 or even A hours week.
DR.. Rutland also has pleaded for
more than a 40-hour work week for
a number of workers in hospitals
and clinics. He said it is absolutely
essential that employees on duty put
in extra time. Even then many
clinical sessions will have to be
curtailed.
DR.. Ella K. Oppenheimer. chief
of the Bureau of Maternal and
Child Welfare, said that some clin-
ical sessions already have been cut
and that others will be combined
for the summer.