Evening star., 1947-10-23
Ga||ingerCites
Limited Space
For Inebriafes
Hospital Can't Admit
All BorderIine Cases,
| OfficiuIs Declare

SIIISIOiS ISSIOIS
City officials who hope to halt ths
recent wave Of cell-block deaths
among prisoners arrested for drunk.
enness cannot leave them all at
Gallinger Hospital when they look
sick, hospital officials said today.
The hospital can admit only q
handful of the 10000 arrested for
lntoxication each year. because there
Is no place to put them except the
psychiatric department-and that's
full.
Demands for a change of police
policy toward drunks began when
John Forrest Bunch died Of a frac-
tured skull August 4, six days after
he was picked up on a drunkenness
charge. Two other prisoners held
Tor intoxication have. died during
the last week.
Problem Is Space.
In conference Tuesday between
Commissioner John Russell Young.
Police Supt. Robert j. Barrett.
Health Officer George c. Rutland
and others. city officials decided to
nave Gallinger examine any drunks
who may need medical attention,
Folice, they pointed out, aren't
qualified to detect serious medical
conditions which may seem to be
ordinary drunkenness.
DR.. Alvin r. Sweeney. Gallinper
superintendent, said today the prob
lem at Gallinger is one of space. A
preliminary examination can be
given each drunk, he said, by the
fully trained doctor on duty "a hours
day in the central admitting room.
But the hospital can't possibly ad-
NIT all the borderline cases whose
medical conditions can be deter
mined only after several days OBJ
servation, he insisted. There lust
isn't room in the hospital for them,
You can't turn alcoholic patients
loose in an ordinary medical ward.
DR.. Sweeney pointed out. They
might harm themselves or others.
Only the psychiatric wards have the
necessary safeguards.
The capacity of the psychiatric
section is 176. There were $50 pa
tients there today. The number
generally f1uctuates between $50 and
165, officials said.
Central Admitting Building.
All patients entering the psychi-
atric department must pass through
central admitting building for that
section, where they are given rou-
tine physical examinations and their
condition is classified.
II they need no medical or surei-
cal care, they are transferred to one
OF the departments other buildings.
The acutely i'll, including all who
would be brought in by the police as
drunkS. remain in the admitting
building for treatment.
The capacity of this building In
"a and this mornings census was
"A. With an average daily admission
OF IL patients, of who at least Z are
mental cases, little space is left for
additional alcoholics.
Police Supt. Barrett has listed 500
cases during the past year in which
police have reported Gallinger doc
tors refused to admit drunks they
brought for examination. He de.
clined today to estimate how many
cases the police would take to the
hospital under the new policy.
To increase the space available
for persons arrested for apparent
intoxication, DR.. Sweeney said he
was considering placing mental pa
tlents committed for observation
directly in their permanent quarters
and conducting their physical ex-
aminations there.
Five Vacapcies on Staff.
Such move would greatly in
crease the medical burden of the
psychiatric section. according to DR..
Joseph L. Gilbert, chief psychiatrist.
The medical work Is now concen.
trated in one building. where IL
can be accomplished faster. DR..
Gilbert has only four doctors to as
sist him. and has five vacancies on
his staff.
He proposed that an additional
resident and two internes be as.
signed to the psycniatric section 50
that all physical examinations can
be made on the day of a patients
entry. permitting his rapid transfer
to permanent quarters and thus
keeping the maximum number of
beds open for alcoholics In the cen.
tral admitting building.
DR.. Sweeney said the hospital
plans to equip about 10 beds In the
medical building with window bars
and other safeguards. so that Ill
patients from the psychiatric section
may be treated there. This will
provide some extra space in the
admitting building for the alcoholics.
Both DR.. Sweeney and DR.. Daniel
L. Seckinger, assistant District
Health Officer, agreed, however, that
Gallinger will never be able to sober
up every drunk who may turn out
to be seriously i'll, with its present
facilities.
The best the hospital can DO, they
said, is to take the most urgent
emergency cases.