Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-01
Early transfer
.-.-s-sal
of Hospital 10
Howard U. Seen
Both University
And Freedmen's
Approve PROPOSAL
BY HAROLD B. ROGERS

BY HAROLD B. ROGERS
Legislation to transfer Freed
mems Hospital to Howard Uni
versity and to construct a new
teaching hospital there is ex-
pected to be sent to Congress
soon by President Eisenhower. Z
A bill to this effect, designed
to carry out the Presidents rec
ommendation in his annual
budget message. has been drafted
by the Department Of Health,
Education and Welfare.
The prospect of early action
arose today after officials Of both
the hospital and the university
were disclosed as strongly adyc-
eating the move.
In hearings on their supply bill
for next fiscal year. leaders of the
two institutions testified before
To- House appropriations subcorn-
mittee headed by Representative
IFogarty, Democrat Of Rhode Is
land. The transcript was made
public today
Recommendations for the
transfer were developed by a
special citizens commission, ap-
pointed by former Secretary
Hobby Of the Health, Education
land Welfare Department. The
plan includes a 4o0-bed, So mil
lion hospital on the university
grounds and use of the present
150-bed tuberculosis hospital
latter renovation.
Superintendent Testifies
DR.. Charles E. Burbridge, hos
lpital superintendent. told the
subcommittee: Il am in favor, of
the recommendations that came
out of the committees study.
They developed for the hospital
a brand new horizon which has
las its focus growth rather than
depression. a direction in which
we had been going formerly"
DR.. Mordecai w. johnson,
president of Howard University,
praised the proposed consolida-
ton of the hospital with the uni
Iversity.
Referring to the recommended
ltions Of the citizens committee,
he told the legislators:
That committee faced direct
| " and unequivocally every i'm
portant question connected with
the relationship Of Freedmen's
Hospital to Howard University
and to the patients in the Dis
trict.
Held Constructive
They discussed them thor
oughly and, in my Judgment
and the judgment Of my asso-
ciates at Howard University
their recommendations are en-
tirely constructive"
| If the program is realized, DR.
johnson predicted, ut will be q
blessing to Howard University, il
will be blessing to the cause OF
medical education, and it will be
10 blessing to the patients in this
area"
The legislators inquired at
some length into some personnel
problems raised by DR.. Bur-
bridge, head of the hospital. He
testified there was apprenhen-
sion among civil service en-
ployes of the hospital, who are
Government employees. in regard
to the loss Of certain rights they
now enjoy and which they might
mot have under private status al
the university. There are about
ZOO classified workers at Freed
mems.
Would Transfer Rights
DR.. johnson, asked by Rep
resentative Fogarty about the
personnel problem, said:
I'VE feel that every human
being who has been working in
Freedmen's Hospital and has
achieved security of tenure, and
THE best possible income avail
able from the Government ought
to be able to transfer to Howard
University with similar security
of tenure, and in the second
place. with income and privi-
leges as near as possible to the
ones that he enjoys with the
Government. We would feel our
selves honor bound to facilitate
both detectives"
The salaries available to nom
teaching personnel at the uni
versity, DR.. johnson explained,
are substantially below" those
available for classified employees
of the Government.
If the Freedmen's personnel
were transferred now to the uni
lversity at university salaries, he
predicted they would suffer
substantially" But he added
efforts are under way to raise
university pay, with funds in the
budget for next year to establish
the first in-grade increases"
| DR.. johnson said he had ap-
pointed committee to make a
careful analysis with statistics
for every possible human rela-
IfiA,.c v1rohIoy,a That will o,.ica bx