Evening star., 1952-09-19

Washingtonians will be given al
chest X-ray examination duringi
October and November for tuber-l
Iculosis, cancer and heart ailments.
Complete plans have not yet
been announced. but officials Of!
the District Health Department.
the United States Public Health
Service, the District Tuberculosisl
Association and the local chapterl
of the American Heart AssociationI
will cooperate in the campaign.
Edward K. Funkhouser. execu-l
tive secretary of the District Tu-|
berculosis Association, said 10 mo-
bile X-ray machines will be used
in the campaign. Seven of the
machines will be located outside
large Government department
buildings to accommodate Federal
employees, and three will be moved
to different sections of the city.
Foll0w-up Planned.
The Public Health Service will
furnish the machines and techni-
clans to operate them. Health De-
partment officials will study the
pictures taken and follow up if
any disease is found. It is planned
to examine between 10000 and
200, 900 persons in the two months
of the campaign.
The Washington Restaurant As
sociation has offered to help in the
campaign, and mobile units will be
stationed in sections where there
are many restaurants. This was
agreed to at meeting yesterday
with officials of the association
and DR.. Daniel L. Seckinger, Dis
trict Public Health Director.
While the campaign starts Of
on October /, several Of |
the large schools and universities
in the District viii be visited be-
fore then.
Others to Cooperate.
DR.. Vernon M. Padgett, director |
Of the Bureau Of tuberculosis Of
the District Health Department,
said about 500 persons will be
engaged in the campaign. 1t will
require the cooperation not only
Of organizations who are conduct
ing the campaign. but of nurses.
clinics and hospitals.
He said the idea of the cam
paign was launched last June "a,
when the Citizens Conference on
tuberculosis was held. At that |
meeting it was brought out that
many persons were suffering from
tuberculosis, unknown to the
Health Department.
Only about half the people with
tuberculosis in the District are
known to have the disease, DR..
Padgett said. The rate of in
cidence is increasing, but the
of deaths is declining be-
cause of improved methods Of
treatment. The 800 deaths here
a year would be preventable, if
it were known in time they had
the disease.
Available Beds Filled.
He said it is unfortunate that |
the new drugs, while valuable,
are not shortening the length Of |
the illness. Many known patients
are awaiting disqualification and
have been for five months, but all |
the available beds in the hospitals
here and sanitariums are filled.
There are $50 patients in the
District Sanitarium at Glenn Dale,
Md, with all facilities there
filled, 81 at Freedmen's Hospital,
260 at Gallinger Hospital, 80 at
the Upshur Street Hospital and
hundreds are receiving home
care. While the home care is keep
ing them from dying. he said,
they desperately need hospital
care.
DR.. Padgett said two-thirds of
those who died from tubersulosis
in 1851 were not brought in for
treatment until the terminal
phase of their illness. He said
about "a per cent of the new
cases discovered in 1851 could not
be admitted to hospitals because
there was no room for them,