Evening star., 1953-06-26
Reports Oppose
Addicts Center
AT GaIIinger
Hospitals Stoff
And Equipment Are
Called inadequate
By Miriom Ottenbero

0y NiTluW nuremberg
Two documents were made
public today to show that Gal.
linger Hospitals psychiatric de-
partment cannot take the dope
addictS to be committed under
the Districts new compulsory
disqualification law.
One of them was a report from
Gallinger'S superintendent, dated
June 10, stating fiat opposition
to the establishment of a treat
ment center for addicts at Gal
linger.
The other was the report OF
top psychiatrist on the Com
missioners' Advisory Committee
on Municipal Hospitals, which
termed the psychiatric depart
ment little more than a holding
facility" lacking the staff, equip
ment or buildings to give proper
treatment.
Commissioner Samuel Spencer
has proposed taking care of up
to 50 addicts at Gallinger as an
alternative to sending them to
Service Hospital at Lexington,
KY. The Budget Bureau, in op-
posing a bill to let the Public
Health Service accept District
and State addicts. mentioned an
alternative. Gallinger, it devel-
oped, was Commissioner Spen-
GERS alternative.
Commissioner Renah Camalier
said today that Commissioner
Spencer had simply signed a
letter prepared for him by the
Corporation Counsels Office and
didn't realize that the addicts
could not be taken care of at
Gallinger. Instead, Commits
;ioner Camalier wants to build
four one-story cottages on the
grounds of Glenn Dale Sana-
torium to take care of up to 1OC
Addicts at an estimated con-
struction cost of Sis million.
Cites Difficulties.
On the score of coping with
the addicts at Gallirger. the su-
perintendent, DR.. Philip A. E.
Stebbing, wrote Health Officer
Daniel L. Seckinger:
IT am strongly opposed to the
establishment of a treatment
center at Gallinger Hospital for
these cases. Treatment of such
cases requires from six months
to a year; conditions must be
rigidly controlled; there must
be provision to see that visitors
do not bring in narcotics; that
the inmates do not escape; that
they have social service, diver
sional therapy, psychiatric help
and many other factors which
we are ill-equipped to supply.
I'VE have an unused portion
of the psychiatric unit which
could be used to house 16 cases
(eight male and eight female) g.
but to perform the necessary al
terations would take a minimum
of four months. It takes three
months, for example, to get de-
livery of safety screens for the
windows.
Sometimes Maniacal.
"It must be borne in mind
that these people will have very
severe withdrawal symptoms,
which sometimes make them
maniacal, suicidal, etc. It is also
a known fact that they are ex-
tremely cunning in devising
means to obtain the narcotics
which their system Graves.
However, if the Commission
ers do decide that we should es-
tablish treatment service, we
could establish such a service
for Is patients in about four
months"
DR.. Stebbing said the costs
would include $500 for altera-
tions and $4,000 for equipment
to get started. The annual costs
for running such a treatment
centeHfor 16 patients would in
clude $3.50 for provisions. S.
500 for medical and hospital sup
plies and $55,2S5 for personnel.
Such a unit" he added,
"would only scratch the surface
of the city's need when it is con-
sidered that the first Is patients
admitted would preclude any
further admissions for six
months to a year. It appears to
us that it will be much more
satisfactory and much cheaper
for the District of Columbia to
house these patients in a Fed
eral institution"
Before Gallinger was even
thought of as a possible alterna-
tive for Lexington. DR.. Norman
Brill, who was assigned as the
member of the Commissioners
Advisory Committee to study
Gallinger's psychiatric depart
ment. reported:
There are not enough doc
tors. nurses, social workers, psy-
biologists. attendants, physio-
therapists, occupational thera-
pists or even clerks in the de-
partment to administer the
proper treatment.
THE department does not
even have an electro-shock ma
chine, which is part of the
standard basic equipment for
every psychiatric facility in the
country, although one was re-
quested two years ago.
Proper segregation of cases
is not possible because of made
Quate help and facilities.
Children when admitted must
be placed in the same wards as
agitated, psychotic, alcoholic,
perverted or criminal adults or
senileS.
THE requests which have been
made by the department itself
for increased personnel and
equipment and changes in the
physical plant have not been
aimed at de luxe service but to-