Evening star., 1946-02-17
|Nyscraper Hospitals
For VA Will Be Built
Under Army Guidance
By Miriom Ottenbero


By Miriam Gutenberg
Sick and disabled veterans will
be hospitalized in "skyscraper"
buildings rushed to completion un-
der supervision of the Army Engi-
neer Corps at an estimated cost of
SAB 100000.
Gen. Omar N. Bradley, Veterans
Administrator. who outlined the
hospital construction program at
a press conference yesterday, called
it "the most gigantic hospital build
ing program In the history Of the
world"
He estimated that with the help
of the Engineers the hospitals could
be completed in 18 months to two
years. When the program is fin
ished, veterans will have 1873 per-
manent hospitals with a capacity
of ISL 500 beds.
Relieves VA Of Work.
Announcement that the War De-
partment had agreed to allow the
Engineer Corps to take over large
portion" of the hospital construction
followed considerable concern in
Veterans Administration quarters
about placing the program on the
VA construction section which was
geared to providing space for 5000
beds a year as compared with a
proposed $4,000 beds.
In the past, Gen. Bradley said,
an average of three years of elapsed
from the time the survey Of a
proposed site was made until the
hospital was receiving the first pa
tients. Gen. Bradley was confident
that with the help of the engineers,
the contraction job could be done in
record-breaking time.
AS fast as projects can be set
up, he said, they will be turned over
to the engineers who will let the
contracts to civilian architects in
the affected localities and supervise
construction through their COM
plete field supervisory force"
Won't Hurt Housing Program.
Construction of the new hospitals,
ranging in cost from ,$2,50O. 900 to
$4,000, 900 each, is not expected to
conflict with the administrations
program of 2,700 900 new homes by
the end of 1947.
Gen. Bradley announced the en-
ployment of three advisers, de-
scribed as outstanding hospital ar
chitects, to insure that the hospitals
are of the most up-to-date type.
One Of the advisers is Slocum
Klngsbury, member of the WASH
ington architectural firm of Faux
ner, Kingsbury and Stenhouse, who
helped plan the new George Wash
ington University Hospital and the
Suburban Hospital at Bethesda, Md.
The new hospitals, Gen. Bradley
said, will be of the skyscraper type,
especially in crowded cities where
land values are high. Veterans
hospitals Enthusiastically have
been of the sprawling type, but
Gen. Bradley said it had been
found that skyscrapers--like the
Naval Hospital at Bethesda-re-
duce the number of persons re-
quired to staff a hospital.
Personnel Hiring Is Speeded.
On the score of personnel, Gen.
Bradley reported that 538 doctors,
66 dentists and 878 nurses had been
hired since the new VA Department
of Medicine and Surgery was set
UP last fnonth-thus more than off,
setting the loss of Army and Navy
personnel stationed in veterans
hospitals and now demobiIized.
Reporting ON temporary meas
ures now under way to provide beds
for sick veterans while VA hos
pitals are under construction, Gen.
Bradley announced:
VA has taken over and operates
five Army hospitals and has started
action to secure Is others, includ-
ing one from the Navy. Others may
be requested if VA can staff them.
Both service connected and nom
service-connected illnesses will be
treated in these hospitals.
The Navy has agreed to give vet
Grams 9,875 beds in its hospitals and
to provide the stats to care for the
patients. The Army, asked to pro-
vide 10000 beds in its hospitals, has
agreed to let VA use the beds but
Secretary of War Patterson is doubt
full that they can all be stated.
Medical Schools to Aid.
Gen. Bradley made public a let
ter from Secretary Patterson In
which the Secretary told him it was
not feasible" to hold doctors in
service against their will to care
for veterans.
Sixty-three medical schools have
agreed to supply consultant visiting
staffs and resident physicians to hos
pitfalls situated nearby.
2 Contracts have been made with
four states to provide hometown
care for veterans with service-con-
nected disabilities and similar con-
tracts are expected to be operating
soon in states containing half the
veteran population in the country.
Thirty-six State hospital associa-
tions have approved a proposal to
use beds in private hospitals for
treatment of service-connected cases.
These contracts would be similar to
the one with the Michigan Hospital
Association where almost all of the
States 200 private hospitals have
opened their doors to sick veterans
with the Government paying the
bills.
HOUSING Discussion Slated