Evening star., 1953-03-30
Retiring Gen. STREET Operated
Center on Yes or No Basis
BY John McKeIwoy

Maj. Gen. Paul II. Streit, who
is retiring tomorrow. has always
had the ability to remain OF
the fence. It's one reason he's
admired at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center.
A person very close to the
general said recently:
"He always says yes or no.
It's never maybe with Gen.
STREET"
With this positive approach,
Gen. Streit made Walter Reed
one of the finest medical centers
in the world.
The general believes he might
have picked up some Of his adj
ministrative knowledge which
includes making ends meet from
his father. q Methodist minister
in Texas. The general can re-
member his father getting a new
church built even on less than
the usual amount of funds avail
able for this purpose.
Urged . Deeper" Look.
Gen. STREET. came to Walter
Reed in l949. One Of the first
things he told his string Of doc
tors to do was, Don't look. so
much at charts and thermom-
eters; look at the patients eyes
and SOUL"
The general has done a lot Of
other things some small, yet
big to many. For years the pa
tients had been trying to find a
place to buy stamps at night.
It was a common gripe. Soon
after Gen. Streit appeared, along
came a stamp machine.
The wheel chair patients all
ways had a tough time crossing
streets because Of. the curbs.
Gen. Streit saw to- it the curbs
were srnoothed OF into ramps.
And the hospital was always
noisy. Gen. STREET. rubberized the
trash cans-and kept visiting.
children out Of the wards by
building them a nursery.
He Met the Nurse Shortage.
He was faced. along with
everybody else, with the short
age Of nurses. Gen. STREET.
dreamed up a program to train
assistants to nurses. Soon they
were doing the administrative
work, bed-making and patient
bathing. The nurses had more
time to figure out the right
amount Of penicillin for a shot.
Now the hospital has q staff on
duty Of about $40 nurses for
some 1000 patients.
"And I think our patients get
as good medical care as any
place else" Gen. STREET. said.
Gen. STREET, at 81, is q small,
wiry man. He's unusually modest.
But he's apt to show plainly how
proud he is Of the Army re-
search teams working on the
front lines in Korea.
He has directed these teams.
which collect data and statistics
on the strange. yet-to-be licked
epidemic hemorrhagic fever and
things like vascular" surgery.
Some of the other things the
general has looked after at Wall
ter Reed have been q new out
patient clinic, q modern eye
clinic. q new obStectrical ward,
q post theater and q new adj
mitting ofice.
Cheers Up Annex.
And they say Gen. Streit took
the gloon" out Of Forest Glen,
the center,s annex.
Gen. STREET. is up on every
thing, - said one Of his heuten.
ants. 'sHe's never stamped out
somebody's new idea, but has
always given encouragement.
This is q case where the Army
/ is losing under the retirement
law. He's the young blood every.
body looks for"
Gen. STREET. has served almost
/ 36 years in the Army Medical
Service. During World War ! he
was overseas as battalion sur
geon with the 87th Division. He
later served as q member OF the
American Typhus Relief Expedi-
ton to Poland In 1880.
During World War II he was
chief surgeon Of the Central
Pacific Base Command. He, H.