Evening star., 1946-06-09
Area Plan Urged
To Provide for
Chronica||y III
Conditions in District
And Virginia Branded
As 'DisgrocefuI'~
By Harold B. ROGERS

SO "heartbreaking," that nothin,
less than major plan for the en-
tire Metropolitan Area can solv'
the problem of Overwhelming pro
portions" according to another
chapter of the Metropolitan Health
and Hospital Survey made public
last night.
Making this recommendation ane
praising the State of Maryland fol
planning some facilities for such
care, the report castigated botf
the District of Columbia and Vir.
ginia for conditions branded as "un.
believable" and 'disgraceful.
The trouble lies not only in lack
OF facilities for the INDECENT, but
also for those who can finance
part care, or even whole care fol-
themselves, the survey charged.
Planning Body Proposed.
"The situation in regard to care
for the chronically i'll is so seriou:
in Washington. said the survey
that it is imperative to form, az
promptly as possible, a joint plan
ming body on which the Medical So.
ciety of the District of Columbia
the Medico Chirurgical Society OF
the District of Columbia and vi
cinlty, the Washington Metropolitan
Health Council "a division of the
Council of Social Agencies, for which
the survey was made), and the area
hospital administrators, should be
represented"
THE budget of this body, recon-
mended the report" should provide
for a full-time director with pro-
fessional and clerical assistants"
Other recommendations:
That 200 beds be set aside al
Gallinger Hospital specifically fol
the chronically i'll, and that these be
supplemented with 125-150 beds al
Freedmen's Hospital, and three OF
four units of Is to rs beds in severa,
OF the larger voluntary hospitals OF
the area.
New Home for Aged Urged.
That "the antiquated and de.
lapldated' Home for the Aged anc
Inflrm at Blue Plains be replaced
by decent, modern plant, includ.
ing as a first unit an adequate in.
Urinary for the chronic invalids.
That the Instructive Visitins
Nurse Society of the District plar
for substantial expansion of it,
home service for the care of the
chronically i'll.
That the Health Department ma
terially expand its housekeeping
aide service to the chronically i'll
in their homes.
That institutional needs in the
care OF the chronically ill from con-
tlguous Virginia areas be cared fol
IN public and private facilities OF
the District of Columbia, with pay.
ment to public institutions in the
District from Virginia sources.
This last recommendation. sale
the report, assumes that the needs
OF Maryland areas will be met
through a State plan"
Regarding Maryland, the report
says there is strong element o.
nope that when Maryland com.
pletes three proposed State insti
tutlons for the care of the chron.
1cally i'll, the Maryland portion O
the survey area will be more ade.
quately served for public charge.
than at present"
Virginia Outlook Remote.
Declaring that the prospect O
Statewide facilities in Virgini;
was more remote the survey salt
that nothing short of a State-wid,
plan will answer the needs of Ar
llngton and Fairfax Counties ant
the city of Alexandria, which fal
within this survey area"
The term Chronic disease" a.
considered in the report, was de
disease that develop slowly ant
scrlbed as those forms of physica
either become progressively wors,
or, If arrested, leave some perma
nent handicap" tuberculosis ant
mental disease, though of a chroni,
nature, the report said, are no
usually included in discussions O
the chronic-disease problems. Con
valescent care is a separate prob
lem also, the report explained. point
ing out this problem had been deal
with in another report.
More than half of our deaths
are from chronic illness, declared
the report, adding: death rate
from heart disease and cancer hay
reached levels far above those O
earlier periods when the proportion
OF persons of advanced age anon,
the population was smaller Th
number of older persons in Americs
gradually is increasing, figure
show.
Advances in medicine have helret
materially to keep some chronic
diseases under control, the repor
said, diabetes and pernicious anemi;
being examples of the trend.
Gallinger Hospital was said t,
be Ideal for the establishment O
division for the chronically ill.
About 1880 Beds Available.
There are about 1890 existin
beds in institutions providing car
Tor chronic illness in the Distric
OF Columbia. the report said. TIL
600 beds at the Home for the Age
and inflrm at Blue Plains are in
cluded in this figure, 18O beds il
the voluntary Washington Home fo
lncurables, and also an estimate
so per cent of the bed capacit
of 26 voluntary homes for the agee
approximately 500 beds. The Sacre
Heart Home for the Aged in Hyatts
vile, Nd, with 80 beds devoted en-
tirely to the aged chronically il
chiefly pay patients, some of whor
come from the District.
The District needs 2,1OO beds fl
the chronically i'll, the report rec
commended, of which 525 should
hospital beds and l,575 beds for long
term care. The Home at Blue Plair
should be raised from it's preser
600 beds to about 900, the repol
said