Evening star., 1952-07-03
1wo-Boss TangIe
Stalls Changes
AT Ga||inger
Long-Promised Plan
Tolmprove Treatment
Of Mental Cases Hit
By Miriam Ottenbero

Of Mental Cases Hit
BY Miriam Gutenberg
The Compromised program to
improve treatment of Gallinger
Hospitals mentally i'll has become
stalled in a two-boss legal tangle.
The two bosses are DR.. Joseph
L. Gilbert, District alieniSt, and
DR.. Gerhart j. Gordon, now chief
of Gallinger's psychiatric division.
DR.. Gilbert, according to his su-
periorS, claims jurisdiction over
all cases sent by the courts for
mental observation, as well as
those brought in by the police
on af1idavits. DR.. Gordon protests
he has no say over the fate of a
majority of his patients.
DR.. Gilbert was both District
alienist and head of the psy-
chiatric division in 1947 when a
series of Star articles labeled the
division disgrace to Washing
ton" and Public Health Service
consultant concurred.
The Commissioners decided to
split DR.. Gilbert's jobs, continuing
him as alienist and creating a
new position as chief medical
officer of psychiatry. Congress
agreed. The new job was created,
and DR.. Gordon was appointed.
But nobody officially ruled what
each man was supposed to do.
Ruling Long Sought.
Hospital Supt. P. A. E. Stebbing
said he has been seeking a Dis
trict Building ruling for three
years.
One problem involved in the
two-boss administration is who
has authority to authorize emer-
gency transfers to st. Elizabeths
Hospital. The law says the chief
of pSychiatry is supposed to dc
1T, but hospital authorities say
DR.. Gilbert claims jurisdiction.
Patients are being transferred
If they become hard to handle
but Health Officer Daniel l.
Seckinger said they are not getting
out of Gallinger fast enough. He
said DR.. Gilbert is reluctant to let
them go until he diagnoses their
ills.
DR.. Seckinger said he would
rather have them go undiagnosed
than remain in Gallinger strapped
to their beds.
On a recent Monday, hospital
pSychlatriSt revealed, 26 of 81 pa
tients were manacled in the build
ing housing newly admitted and
disturbed patients.
Hospital authorities are afraid
to change the status quo without
a legal ruling for fear they will
walk into a law suit by transferring
a court case without DR.. Gilbert's
approval.
katIentS Eyes GOuge0.
A new plea for action was made
to the District Building, after a
walking patient attacked a bed
patient in Gallinger's psychiatric
division in May. The victims eyes
were gouged. He lost the sight of
one eye. The other eye is said
to be improving.
Commissioner Renah Camalier
said today he has asked the
Corporation Counsel's Office and
the District Personnel Board for
rulings. He said he believes the
question of who has authority over
what can be settled without a new
law.
Behind the question of divided
authority is the even more de-
bated one of whether the psychiat-
ric division should serve only as
a clearing house for diagnosing
mental illness or should be a
treatment center for patients else
where in the hospital as well as
others needing short-term care.
DR.. Gordon said his fellow
psychiatrists were too busy handl-
ing the red-tape Of commitments
to give much treatment. DR..
Stebbing acknowledged there was
virtually no treatment given the
mentally i'll at Gallinger. DR..
Seckinger said that if he could
get rid of the unmanageable cases
and get clear idea of how much
authority the hospital has over
the cases, treatment could begin.
DR.. Gordon, who was supposed to
introduce modern methods, attract
the medical schools to use the
Ipsychiatric division as a teaching
center and develop a sound pro-
gram, has now been here for two
years.
|, II thought when I came here, u
he told The Star, II would get the
means and support to do some
thing worthwhile. If I had the
authority, I could have helped
many people. I can't do anything
without it,"
1 Deficiencies Still Exist.
Patients now fare little better
than they did when The Star de-
scribed their plight in 1947. The
psychiatric division is still under
stated, under-equipped and over
crowded.