Evening star., 1948-09-21

Gallinger Hospital To-Day Threw Tile
first Jolt into the Commissioners
fiscal economy plan, submitting q
Sc, ,780, 400 budget estimate for fiscal
! l950-nearly double the money ap-
propriated for running the munich
pal hospital this year. ii.
Although technically hewing te
| the Commissioners line against any
new construction and almost all
new hiring, Health Oficer George
C. Rutland asked $2,428,005 to COM
plete and equip three unfinished
Gallinger projects and money tc
hire 1873 additional doctors, nurses
and nonprofessional workers.
The rest of the $3,174,909 increase
over the $3,605, 500 appropriation for
fiscal 1949 is attributed to within
grade salary boosts, greater operat-
ing costs and anticipated higher
tprices for food and equipment.
Capital Outlay.
The request for capital outlay
construction and equipment is as
follows:
s1,431,565 to complete construc.
ton of the new Pediatrics and Grip.
pied Childrens Building.
S383,000 to equip the Pediatrici
and Crippled Children's Building
expected to be ready for occupancy
i'll the spring of 1850.
$279,00O to complete the new Lab
vratory Building.
$49,440 to equip the Laboratory
Building when it is ready for oc-
cupancy in the winter OF 1949.
1850.
$285,O00 to expand the operating
room suite in the Surgery Build.
nrg.
In the same estimate, Dr. Ruh-
land asked the Commissioners te
approve $1922,000 budget fol
Glenn Dale tuberculosis Sana-
rorium, an increase of $4,000 ovel
the present appropriation. SOLE
capital outlay request for Glenr
Dale is $4,000 to furnish fou,
apartments for medical officers al
the sanatorium.
Medical Officers Asked.
Among the 1873 new positions re-
quested in the Gallinger bulge
are: One medical officer for thu
Upshur street hospital, where onl!
one doctor serves now, despite tht
doubled population; one opthalmol'
ogy (eye) medical officer. because
the Episcopal Eye, Ear and Throa
Hospital now charges So a day, thu
bringing greater numbers of pa
tients to gallinger; two anesthesiol.
ogy resident physicians, because tht
present staff is too small and foul
X-ray technicians, because tn.
present staff cannot keep up with
the work on hand.
Accompanying the request for II
domestic attendants jobs cat a tota
cost of $4,000 for the year,, th'
Gallinger estimate presented an un
usual justification.
Keeping in mind the Commission
ers' economy order forbidding nev
hiring except to staff new facilities
the Gallinger estimate declared:
Justification for these position
in order to comply with the 1851
policy for submission of budget esti'
mates can only be made by interp'
reting the steadily increasing census
as new facility"
Patient Increase Cited.
In Requesting a pathologist II
serve as assistant to the laboratory
director and six laboratory aides fol
Gallinger's laboratory service, ths
estimate blamed the increase partls
on an increased patient load but
more on the hospitals attempt tt
provide the type of clinical labora.
tory diagnostic attention excepted
in any modern hospital"
Such attention still far from
meets minimum standards as indi.
Gated by daily complaints from the
medical staff, even resulting in ad.
verse newspaper reports" the rec.
ommendation continued. This il
because of the hopelessly inadequate
physical plant, its location, size ano
old equipment plus an inadequate
staff"
Final authorization for the con.
struction of q new, centrally 10.