Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-04
clinical Center Is a Year Ole; !;
Sick Find Hope in Research

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word. But we're living together.
we're getting somewhere"
Washington is a new expert
ence to them. They don't quite
understand Congress which con-
trolls the center's budget. A few
did leave in q huff. But those on
board now feel they. have the
freedom they were looking for.
i don't think I'm down here
out OF grand humanitarian prin-
ciples." one frankly admitted. IT
just like to come up with some
thing new. I get a kick out Of
looking for it"
There are other members Of
the crew. One is dietician's aide
who sits by the hour weighing
small chunks Of bread on a scale.
The doctors are running a con-
trolled diet test and he's got to
know just exactly what his pa
tients eat.
New Experience for Nurses.
To the nurses, an integral part
OF the crew, the first year has
been a new experience. They're
finding so much more is de-
manded Of them than in an
ordinary hospital. They can't
overlook anything. II they do, a
research project is jeopardized
Even washed out. They can't. be
too short or fussy with a patient
or he might get up and leave. In
surgery, the operations ARE
longer. more exacting. Every
move is tabulated. They're tax
ing more temperatures and put
ting more things down on pa
per.
For the first time" said one
nurse. Tim practicing what I.
learned in nursing school. I've
got the time to do a good job,
now"
This is the crew that pushed
the center to speed record
early this year. Scientists turned
up a substance which looks like
it might be to epileptics what
insulin is to diabetes. Nobody
expected this in one year of re-
search. The finding justified the
big ship in clear terms. She had
paid of. And to set the record, it
took patients. doctors and scien-
lists working closely together
sometimes for 10 straight hours
in an operating room. That was
why she was built.
II you scan the list of passen-
gers on the great ship. the
names. their occupations, their
backgrounds mean nothing. It's
their illnesses that do.
They have been selected be-
cause they are a certain age and
weight. and because the stage of
their illness is in a particular
phase. With some, it's the final
phase. They have cancer. heart
disease. arthritis. Some are mem
tally i'll.
But they are not bitter. grip
ing. lost souls. They seem to look
with an objective eye on their
condition. The doctors have pa
tiently answered their questions
and they can describe What,
they've got with medical journal
terms.
$40 Patients Already Treated.
Their stay at the Clinical Cen
ter usually runs about a month.
Up to 92O patients have coma !
and gone since last dally s.: TneIe
are about 1874 there now DIV tlie
end of 1855. the center hopes toa
'activate" $50 beds out of its 500.
During their stay, they receive
more attention than the average
person receives in a lifetime.
Naturally, they like it. Some
times their blood pressure is
taken as much as every Is min
ltes. Their blood is frequently
drawn-but always by their doc
tor. not by a nurse or an aide.
They like that.
Z A 58-year-old colored woman.
suffering from severe arthritis.
talks like this about the ship:
You can get easily spoiled
mere. The nurses, doctors, the
'ood-all are wonderful. I have
better understanding Of my
condition. When I arrived.
atrophy had set in in my right
arm. I was emaciated. There
aas been some degeneration of
in the joints, yet I feel
N time I'll be able to get back
TO work"
He Must Lie on His Stomach
Rolling down the hall ON Ii
goes Clifford Harrel1.
II, colored. of 1880 Swami street
NV. Young Harrell has a bad
break in his hip which is still
He has to remain lying
On his stomach and that's his /
ticket to the Clinical Center.
The doctors are doing some
netabolism test on me-" he says. |
It's cause I've got to stay in
his position all the time. I'm
IN a low PHOSPHORUS diet. They |
want to find out how my bodyf
works in this one position =
Another patient, DR.. Erving
jeever, A., of Colorado Spring,
Colo, has a kidney ailment under
study by doctors investigating !
heart disease. He had to give up
MS work, pathology. due to the |
4
Sure" he says, there's lot |
of fru-fru around here. The
pretty bedrooms. pretty curtains.
But you've got to have that to
Keep our morale up.
These doctors are young.
highly specialized. You could
H..