Evening star., 1946-05-12
District Control
Of tuberculosis
Hit.in Survey
Cut in Deaths Luuded,
But Shortcomings
Are Laid to Director
HOUSE GROUP to consider D. c.
hospital center bill Thursday.
Page Ais
By Harold B. Rogers

The District has accomplished
significant results" in the con-
troll of tuberculosis, but the
shortcomings" of the Health
Departments tuberculosis Bu-
reau must rest primarily on the
shoulders of the director of
tuberculosis"
This mixture of praise and blame
was contained in the third chapter
of the metropolitan health and
hospital survey made public last
night. The survey group, following
its policy of not mentioning names,
charged the tuberculosis director
with fundamental incapacity for
teamwork.
DR.. A. Barklie Coulter is the
director of the tuberculosis Bureau.
Among the charges against pres
ent policies was one that priority
care of more advanced cases at
District sanatoria threatened great
er danger to the public, because
patients in their early stages of
the disease, and at large. were more
likely to spread infection.
Criticizing the practice of priority
for advanced cases, the report
charged that "even with the short
age of hospital facilities, we believe
it is a mistake to limit admission
to far advanced cases.
Easiest Course Charged.
This is, OF course, the path of
least resistance for a bureau chief. y
the surveyors said, but, the greater
the shortage, the more important
1t is to use what facilities one has
to maximum advantage The
early ambulant case with positive
sputum is the person who should
be hospitalized first because this is
the type OF case most likely to spread
Infection"
North Of the Potomac River, as
we have seen," said the surveyors,
only advanced cases of disease are
admitted to hospitals, South of the
river (Virginia) only ambulant
cases are in general received. Nc
new bed cases are admitted (south
of the river and far advanced
cases are discharged from the sana
toria and sent home. AS a choice
between two evils. perhaps the Vir-
ginia policy is wiser" Immediate
need, the survey said was reopening
OF 309 idle beds in the Sanatoria ano
District hospitals.
Progress was reported by the
three surveyors for the Metropolitan
Health Council in the Districts
efforts to cut down the tuberculosis
death toll over the past eight years
Death Note Drops.
For instance. between 1885 ane
1943. the report said. The white
death rate is lower and the non-
white death rate higher for the
District than for the whole United
States, but in eight years, the Dis
~ AASo ictSS lloFC OCCll Dtl
cent for whites and 80 per cent TO,
non-whites as against "a per cen,
and % per cent for this country
as whole"
Recent data. quoted by the sur
veyors from the Bureau of the
Census, indicate that for the FIVE
year period from 1899 to 1914 the
District shows a reduction in total
tuberculosis rate of 27 per cent
which is greater than that for any
State except Florida 80 per cent?
and Virginia (31 per cent?.
On the other hand, the report
said that tuberculosis in 1894
still caused more than 6 per cent of
all deaths in the District. The ac-
tual rate for the District in this
three-year period was 83 per 100000
and the city ranked 85th in the
total OF 90 cities of over 100000
population, exceeded only by At
lanta, Birmingham, Chattanooga