Evening star., 1952-06-25
Bold Plan 10 End
tuberculosis in
D. {. Advocated
More Hospital Beds
Included in Program
Discussed at Meeting
By Wallace {. CIoyton

"A NO4O d4lu CAPCI1S1VG pIOSTdU
to wipe out tuberculosis in Wash
ington. possibly within 20 years
was advocated yesterday, as repre-
Sentatives Of District health an,
civic agencies met to map out
"do it now" campaign against tn
highly communicable disease.
The theme of the meeting wa
set by DR.. Daniel L. Seckinger
District health officer, who toll
the so persons attending:
We're here to try to establish
something to knock out tuber'
culoSis in the District within s
reasonable time-I'd say within s
generation"
Principal need, as listed by DR.
Seckinger and other tuberculosi.
experts on the program, is for ad.
dititonal hospital beds to care fol
active tuberculosis cases discovered
every year.
DR.. Howard M. Payne, chief o1
the Freedmen'S Hospital tuber-
culoSis service, called for 1000 new
hospital beds for tuberculosis pa
tientS.
Detection Emphasized.
Health officials emphasized that
. stepped-up detection program OF
chest X-rays was equally impor-
tant.
Other necessary and costly
measures requested were a wide
spread research program, and an
improved educational program.
Although most Of the experts
at the meeting in the District
Medical Society headquarters
conceded the immediate program
necessary would be costly, they
let these figures, as presented by
Edward K. Funkhouser, execu-
tive secretary of the District
tuberculosis Association, illustrate
their point of long-range say.
ingS:
l. The expenditure for tubercu-
loSis prevention in the District
last year was $297,955 This in
cluded the upkeep cost of the
Health Departments Bureau fol-
tuberculosis; the expense of main
tanning the Freedmen's Hospital
clinic, and the budget Of the vol
untary District tuberculosis AS
Eociation.
2. The cost of finding new cases
was $523.505.
3. The medical care bill, in
cluding expenses at Health De-
tment-administered hospitals,
st. Elizabeths Hospital and Vet
Grams Administration medical
bills. was $4,277,484.S9.
Expenses in Rehabilitation.
4. Rehabilitation and compen-
sation expenses were $861, ,293.
Mr.. Funkhouser pointed out
that this better than SIS million
yearly cash outlay did not in
clude the loss to the community
in production and wages.
1t was stressed that, although
the disease is controllable, the
death rate in the District from
tuberculosis is second among cities
of camparable size.
Committee of 4 Named.
Members Of the conference
voted to appoint the following
four-man committee to discuss
with the Commissioners the press
ing need for a greatly enlarged
anti-tuberculosis program here:
DR.. Seckinger, DR.. A. C. Christie
Mr.. Funkhouser and BENJAMIN M.
McKelway, editor of The Star, who
presided at the meeting.
The vital points in the District
tuberculosis picture, as brought
out by the various speakers, were /:
DR.. Christie, chairman of the
Radi0lOgy Committee of the Ma
tional Research Council.
The 194S District tuberculosis
detection program turned up 4,7OO
cases of tuberculosis. Only 663 of
these cases were previously known
to the Health Department. If it
hadn't been for the survey, 4,O37
undetected and possibly highly in
fictitious cases would have re-
mained untreated.
Estimates indicate that IS per
cent of the tuberculosis cases in
the District today are unknown to
the Health Department.
DR.. Payne.
There were 800 tuberculosis
deaths preventable deaths in
the District in 1851. The tubercu-
losiS death rate in 1949 was 20
times the death rate of the over
all population.
There are $3.50 known cases of
tuberculosis in the District. Only
1,433 Of these are now hospital
wed.
We have no adequate bacteri-
ologic diagnostic facilities by to-
days standards.
We have but IS public health
nurses to carry on the follow-up
and observation program for the
$3.50 known cases.
Much Of our public health pro-
gram Is a patch work of ex-
pediency forced on us by limita-
ton Of funds.
DR.. Vernon M. Padgett, Director
Of the Health Departments
Bureau for tuberculosis.
Two-thirds of those who died
from tuberculosis in 1851 were
not brought in for treatment until
the terminal phase Of their illness.
Chest x-ray screening programs
among population groups with a
known high incidence of tubercu-
losiS. and In institutions where
such surveys could be made, are
inadequate. For example, only Is
per cent Of patients at general
hospitals and adults visiting Board
Of Public Welfare agencies are
avn v,ninol A~l 1o.- a.. -