Evening star., 1947-11-13

would supervise teaching. DR..
Sweeney said he may also ask for
consultant.
recommendations made by the
Commissioners committee and never
carried out also will be included IN
the report, DR.. Sweeney said.
Steps to Be Taken.
In addition to requesting specific
recommendations for undermining
the psychopathic division, Commits
sioner Mason indicated at yester-
days conference that the following
steps will be taken:
l. Separation of the jobs OF chief
psychiatrist of Gallinger and Dis
! trict alienist, both of which are
now held by Dr. Joseph L. Gilbert,
to give DR.. Gilbert more. time to
devote to the hospital.
2. Approval of an increase in the
salaries of resident physicians to at
tract residents to the psychopathic
division.
8. Action by the engineers office
to determine what is needed to put
the elevators in the psychopatic di-
vision into working order. The ele-
vators have never run.
4. An active recruiting campaign
| to obtain the psychia trists, residents
and nurses needed to staff the psy-
chopathic wards.
New Building Sought.
Mr.. Mason said the Commissioners
were committed to getting a new
building for the psychopathlc dlvl-
sion but. since that would take years,
the best use should be made OF pres
ent facilities. He freely admitted
that I'm as much to blame as any
body for not keeping after this"
Representative Miller, Republican,
of Nebraska, chairman of the Dis
trict subcommittee on health, edu-
cation and recreation, made a sur
prise visit to the hospital yesterday
and later attended the District
Building meeting.
He branded as medieval the
practice of having patients chained
to their beds" and suggested that
officials responsible for supervising
the hospital should visit it more
often.
Responsibility Placed.
| He told Commissioner Mason.
/ Health Officer George c. Rutland
and DR.. Sweeney that they were
responsible for seeing that the psy-
chopathic division was conducted In
an acceptable manner and pointed
out that through more frequent
visits to trouble spots they could
raise morale and see what was
needed.
He also suggested that the psy-
chopathic division should be painted
and cleaned up and made more at
! tractive.
DR.. Addison M. Duval, chief of
staff of st. Elizabeths Hospital, who
represented George Washington
University Medical School at the
conference, said the university was
interested in helping Gallinger from
a community standpoint and In
using it as q teaching center, but
he said the university would like
to see better setup before we use
it for teaching"
DR.. Gilbert said he was aware
that the objection to using the
psychopathic division as a teaching
center was the fact that patients
are manacled. He said he could
avoid these mechanical restraints
if he had enough staff. He. added
that patients had not been manacled
before the war depleted his staff.
Mr.. Mason told his health off,
clals fatty that the psychopathic
division either had to be brought
up to standard or closed.
The Commissioners, he said, were
willing to ask Congress for the nee
essary funds to make improvements
but they had to have the basic rec
omendations to justify the request.
More Treatment Needed.
On the score of treatment, DR..
Gilbert said in answer to questions
that there was need for much more