Evening star., 1946-04-20
Requests for Funds
70 Improve Ga||inger
May Reach 5 Million

FfuI NCuIH , FlIIIIVII
CITIZENS ASK Senate for more
District funds. Details on Page A-I2
By Don S. Worren
The lever more pressing" need
for greatly increased future rev.
enues for the District was cited
today by city officials as the
O'Mahoney Subcommittee of the
Senate Appropriations Commit
tee began study of proposals
which would virtually double the
number of employees and next
years total outlays for the oper-
alton of Gallinger Municipal
Hospital.
Indications are the revised appro-
priation requests for Gallinger, now
being whipped into shape by hos
pital officials at the invitation of the
O'Mahoney Subcommittee, will call
for an outlay of more than $5,OO0,-
900 in the year beginning July /.
This would be roughly $1,5OO,OOO
above the original estimates Gal
linger officials compiled last July and
about $2,600,000 over total Gallinger
appropriations for next year as
approved recently by the House.
PTspare Expansion Proposals.
Gallinger also is preparing pro-
posalS for pushing ahead as rapidly
as possible building expansion
program, which would cost more
than s6,ooo,ooo.
W need lot of improvements,
and we desire a lot more" COM
mented Budget Officer Walter L.
Fowler. IF we get them, they must
be paid for.
There should be greatly in
creased Federal payment to the
District, and there will have to be
increases in District taxes
Along with this, it was said, very
largeF sums of District revenues
would be needed in the next year
or two for sewer, water and highway
funds to cover costs of utilities re-
quised for thousands" of new homes
for veterans which may be built
here under pending proposals.
Report Submitted.
q A partial report by the executive
committee of Gallinger officials on
the need to place the hospital on
a 'second-to-none" basis was sub
mitted to the O'Mahoney Subcom-
nittee late yesterday by Rear
Admiral P. S. Rossiter, Gallinger's
chief of staff.
AS base for new consideration,
and only as partial estimate of
costs, it called for adoption of the
original 1947 estimates of nearly
$3,500,000, drafted last July by Dr.
Alvin R. Sweeney, Gallingers new
superintendent.
This would be about $1,140,000
above the totals granted recently by
the House. 1t would provide for
1869 employees. not counting those
needed TO establish the now proposed
40-hour week. which would carry the
total probably to some 2,l00. This
would be in contrast to 1,270 recon-
mended by the Commissioners and
for next year l,087 approved by the
House. There are now between 300
and 900.
In addition, the Rossiter report
recommends II per cent increase
in outlays for Gallinger patients
food, to raise the per patient daily
costs from 38 cents to IS cents.
This would mean an additional an
nual cost of nearly 100000. Much
larger outlayS would be needed to
place the entire Gallinger staff on
a 40-hour work week. The staff is
working 48 hours, as against a pre-
war level of go hours or more.
Cite Construction Costs.
While asking for action on the
long-range building program as soon
as construction conditions permit,
the Rossiter group warned that con-
tractor bids nowadays are running
so per cent above earlier appropria-
tionS. For this reason it asked that
extra funds be added now to grants
for construction of the projected
new pdliatrics ward and laboratory
building so these might be carried
on without delay.
This would add more than s4O0,-
900 to the 1947 budget. Already
available are funds of S6200O0 for
the new pediatrics building and
Sl90,000 for the new and expanded
laboratory
The Rosslter report, requested by
Chairman O'Mahoney was one re-
suit of debate over 267 clearly
preventable" deaths which allegedly
occurred among premature babies
there in the last six years. Join
ing with Admiral Rossiter in the
interim report we're Drs. Charles
Stanley White, Eugene R. Whitmore,
John Parks and Hugh H. Hussey
visiting" heads of departments at
Gallinger, and DR.. Sweeney, hos
pital superintendent and secretary
of the medical administrative COM
mittee.
Hospital "Well Stated"
After listing the resident physi-
clans stationed at the hospital, plus
visiting physicians and internes
from George Washington and
Georgetown University Hospitals,
the Rossiter committee declared the
hospital was well stated" with
physicians and prepared to furnish
very high grade of strictly medi-
cal care"
1t added the hospital should and
could set standard for municipal
hospitals throughout the Nation.
However, it found great deficien-
cies in other respects. The most
serious deficiency at the moment ;,
1t said, lis the critical shortage of
personnel, especially in the nursing
service" 1t added there also was
inadequate equipment, partly due to
inadequate funds and partly to war
time shortages.
The utter inadequacy" of funds
now provided for food for patients
at Gallinger and the inadequate
quantity and poor quality" of meats
obtainable under existing contract
conditions" were cited by the Ros-
sitter group in support of greater
funds for subsistence of patients.