Evening star., 1948-12-10
Health Workers Tell
OF Need for FoIIowup
INDECENT Medical Care
Steps should be taken Immediately

Steps should be taken Immediately
to care for INDECENT medical pa
tients after their discharge from
hospitals, Health Department Off
cials and administrators in District
hospitals agreed at meeting today
in the Municipal Center.
The conference approved "in
principle" the play for the follow-up
medical care of discharged hospital
patients. 1t called for efforts to
initiate this plan with present exist
ing facilities.
DR.. George C. Rutland, District
health officer, explained the plan to
provide outpatient clinics with case
history of patients after they have
been discharged from the hospital
Thus, the patients could attend the
clinic and prevent the recurrence of
the illness which would put them
back in the hospital.
Aid Declared Necessary.
| It was decided that with the
] limited medical services available
the Board of Public Welfare, OF
some other charity organization
would have to help out in the follow
up services.
/ Dr.. Daniel L. Seckinger, assistant
| health officer, said that clinic Serv-
ices should be available "a hours 6
day seven days week because many
of the patients have to work for
living and would have to take the
day of to visit the clinics.
DR.. A. Barklie Coulter, director oi
the tuberculosis Bureau OF the de-
partment, pointed out that there
were many "repeaters" at Gallingel
Hospital because of the lack OF
clinics.
One Clinics Use Stressed.
DR.. Paul B. Cornely of Freedmen
Hospital told the conference that
discouraged patients should be sent
to one clinic and not allowed to
circulate of shop around at the diff
ferent clinics. He called attention
to the fact that physicians now un-
der contract with the District to
care for medical indigents have tc
be called through the Police De-
partment. He said this method
should be abolished and some other
method devised for notifying physi-
clans to attend i'll persons. He also
said that it was disgrace to the
District that Nthese physicians for
the INDECENT receive only So day
for their services.
1t was brought out that while Il
physicians are authorized under this
plan. the District has only been able
to obtain the services of five ano
this is not enough to cover the en-.
| tire District. He said it was harc
to get physicians to do this work be-
cause many of the homes do moi
have decent facilities and are not fl
to live in. Senior medical students
are now fully occupied in their oWr
clinics, it was said, and 1t would
take many changes in their Schoo
work to At them into the out
patient clinic picture.
James G.. Capossela, superintend-
ent at Emergency Hospital, said the
out patient clinics at that hospital
had increased 100 per cent in the
last year and that they would have
to explore their facilities a little
more before they could take on any
increased work.
! Social Service Held Needed, Too.
DR.. Joseph Fazekas Of Gallingel
Hospital said that the plan pro-
posed by DR.. Rutland concerned not
only Gallinger Hospital, but other
hospitals as we'll He said that
social service as we'll as medical
service would be needed to make
the outpatient clinics success.
Under the present plan for out
patient clinics, the Health Depart
ment allows So a visit for INDECENT
patients treated at the clinic. In
some cases, it was pointed out, a
person being treated for diabetes is
given 81 or So worth of insulin.
DR.. Rutland, at the close of the
meeting, said he would have to refer
the outpatient clinics question to
the Commissioners before it coulo
be put into operation because ad-
ditional funds probably would be
| napHnH