The Wilmington morning star., 1947-02-23
CENSUS
SHOWS OVERLOADS
Shortage OF Beds, Doctors
And Nurses Cited In
Charlotte Area

er in a series of articles writ
ten for and donated to the cur
rent Good Health Campaign by
North Cardinals leading feature
writer's.
BY BURKE DAVIS
Special Writer, Charlotte News
M~ecklenburg County's $4,000 Ne
groes have at their disposal 80
hospital beds a dozen Negro doc
tors, one emergency operating
room, and one delivery room. But
that's just half the trouble. They
sometimes can't get to those, be-
cause patients from surrounding
counties flood into Charlotte's Good
Samaritan Hospital and take beds
and doctors, while many natives
linger On long waiting lists. The
busiest Negro Hospital in the Caro-
linas is typical of the situation
throughout the skinny system IN
the state.
Last year the hospital had an IN
credible 1866 admissions, and that
was an increase of 500 over l94o.
The average daily census for this
plant, rated at 88 beds, was over
81 patients-or An occupancy OF
ITO percent. On a normal day this
week the wards, rooms and halls
housed 100 patients. In an obste-
trical ward built to accommodate
SO patients (both mothers and
%children), 81 patients e being
cared for.
A curious local problem here is
the large number of medical
specialists in Charlotte, among
both Negro and white doctors.
These specialists are the reason for
most patients who come in from
Rowan, Union, Stanly, Cabarrus,
Castor, Arson and other counties
in North Carolina, and half a
dozen upper South Carolina
counties. The hospital, for ex-
ample, gets a large number Of
serious theological cases because of
prominent specialists here; a
number of leading eye surgeons
attract much work from the blind
association. So the Mecklenburg
Negroes often wait, and outsiders
go into the rooms.
That isn't the only reason they
wait, of course. On week-ends, es-
pecially, natives compete for the
operating tables. Often, so Superin
tendent George Lascock reports.
patients must wait six or eight
hours before reaching the
emergency operating room. But
Good Samaritan's problems are
almost purely those of Space and
accommodations.
Quality of service is high. Its
active staff of twelve Negro Doc
tors and curtesy staff Of 105 white
doctors (Who have patients there
regularly turns out superior work
on the basis of comparison with
the six Duke Endowment : assisted
Negro hospitals in the ~>rolinas.
The average discharges for the six
hospitals in 1915 was 1925; for
Good Samaritan, 1865 dhe largest
single number. Average major
operations for the six was 434; for
Good Samaritan, 664. The average
newborn for the six was 400; for
Good Samaritan, $50. Despite its
high rate of activity, the Charlotte
hospital was superior as shown by
the death rate, which was 5.5 per-
cent for all hospitals, and "A per-
cent for Good Samaritan.
But the needs of Macklenburg
Negroes, despite above-average
facilities, are the needs of the
whole Of North Cardinals million
Negro people. They need more doc
tors, dentists, nurses, hospital
beds, and health center facilities.
More and more Good Samaritan's
patients + using the Blue Cross
plans, and that will increase the
hospital load in the future. Mr..
Laycock says the coverage of this
insurance extends beyond t h e in
duStrial group, and into domestics
and farm workers.
This hospital, founded by the
Episcopal church in 1881 lit
opened ten years later, is not
supported by the church. but by
public and private contributions,
and by funds solicited quietly by