Evening star., 1951-05-11
House Subcommittee
0ks Fund Grants for
DC. Private Hospitals
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~ Ns Z HvuIC IlVSpllul9
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here, but also stipulates the terms
under which the District govern
nent would repay part of the con-
struction costs.
representatives of the private
hospitals laid before the subcom-
mittee the needs of Providence,
Casualty, Sibley, Children's and
Homeopathic hospitals.
Representative Mccormack and
other witnesses brought out that
the Federal grants available to
the District under the so-called
Hill-Burton Act for hospital con-
struction throughout the country
were insufficient to meet the need
in the District.
Only about $275,00O a year is
available to this city annually
under the national law and it is
entirely inadequate, the commit
tee was told. ......t
Unusual Demands Here.
Speaking to- Providence and as
an attorney fan1ilia with all the
hospital needs he :, Daniel w.
O'DonoghIa contt .ided that more
funds were needed because of the
peculiar situation of the District.
The heavy transient population,
the geographical limits of the Dis
trict, and the fact that many
persons from nearby States re-
ceive hospital care in this city. he
said increased the hospital serv-
ice required here far beyond that
which could be met by Burton
aid.
!. Questioned by committee mem
bers, Mr.. ODonoghue advised
them that the percentage of Fed
eral aid proposed under this pend
ing bill in some instances would
oe less liberal per project than the
Halliburton program.
1he measure provides no total
sum to be allocated by the Fed
eral Government. It would au-
thorize the Federal grant up toI
% per cent of the value of the
project as finally improved.
The District Government would II
oe required to repay 30 per cent
OF the Federal grant without in
terest over a period of 1914 years.
Reynolds Backs Bill.
Commissioner of Public Build
mgs W. E. Reynolds told the sub
committee that the big hospital
center project is still being
planned and strongly approved
the pending bill to help other pri-
vate hospitals here.
John A. Reilly of Providence
Hospital said. Providence had
bought site at Twelfth and Var
mum streets NE. and was ready to
put up half the cost of new hos
pltal as soon as the Federal aid
is available.
Like other witnesses, Mr.. Reilly
stressed that the hospital financial
need for aid was based principally
on the care of INDECENT patients.
which he said over the past five
years totaled $612.083.
For Sibley Hospital, Paul Crome-
lin said this institution had plans
Tor rehabilitating the present /
structure and putting UP a new
building on land adjacent to the
hospital. Z a /
DR.. Joseph "A. Young, chief of /
staff OF Casualty Hospital, said an
old structure, with obsolete beds
built many years ago by the Gov /
ernment, was unsafe and insult [
able for hospital purposes" and
should be rebuilt.
Others Support Measure.
Mr.. ODonoghue also testified
that officials of Children's andil
Homeopathic Hospitals who could +
not be present authorized him to
register their support of the bill.
He pointed out that the amend
ment. pending had been opposed
by the District Commissioners
when it originally was carried in a
hospital center bill in 1946 from
which it was stricken.
District Commissioner F. JOS
eph Donohue urgently recon-
mended passage of the bill. de-
claring that unless new hospital
construction could be completed,
the public health program of the
city would be seriously affected
He said he had been deeply i'm
pressed with the hospital needs
OF the city during executive hear
1ngs on the District 1852 budget
before a House Appropriations
subcommittee, which ended yes
terday.
A new proviso inserted in the
bill at the insistence of the Dis
trict Commissioners and written
by Corporation Counsel Vernon
E. West, says that except in the
case of the construction and
equipment of a new hospital no
such grant shall be made to any
private agency unless such pri-
vate agency shall obligate itself
to pay at least so per cent of
the cost of any project on which
such grant is made"