Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-08-18
Steps Urged to Halt
Escapes at Hospital
Plans Include
Boost in Number
Of Attendants

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and more attendants have been
recommended to the District
Commissioners to prevent fur
ther escapes by patients from
District General Hospital.
These suggestions were among
several presented in q report hy
DR.. Daniel L. Seckinger, public
health director. The report was
prepared after an investigation
by health authorities of the es-
cape last August IL by I'VE male
patients in two separate softies
from two buildings in the psychic
atric division Of the hospital.
Three of the escapes were
caught shortly afterward. Two
are still at large with a bundle
of keys to the doors of one Of
the buildings. All of the men
were being detained on criminal
charges.
Some Changes Made
DR.. Seckinger reported that
some new security steps already
have been taken. In the maxi
mum security ward on the first
floor of the South Building, from
which two Of the men escaped
by prying open a heavy window
screen, these changes have been
made:
!. Wire netting has been in
stalled on the iron bar gate to
the ward. It is believed that an
implement may have been passed
through this gate to the patients
to enable them to pry open the
window screen.
2. More frequent "shakedown'
inspections are being made to
see If any of. the inmates have
illegal equipment.
The health director recon.
mended that the Commissioners
seriously consider putting iron
bars over the windows of the
ward and that two attendants be
on duty at all times.
Another important suggestion
by DR.. Seckinger was that dag
noSiS of patients be speeded as
much as possible to keep the
length of stay at a minimum.
Other Security Suggestions
Recommended for the East
Building, where three patients
escaped by tying up an attend
ant and making OF with his keys
were:
/. Provision of maximum Sc
curity facilities for all court
cases. additional attendants and
renewed efforts to have st. Eliz-
|abeths Hospital take in more of
the criminal insane cases to re.
duce the number held at Dis.
Itrict General.
In addition, DR.. Seckinger rec
commended reopening of the Sec
ond floor wing of the South
Building for psychiatric cases
and that the Commissioners con-
slider rearranging patients in
that building SO that the entire
f1rst floor would have maximum
security features for the poten-
tally dangerous patients.
The health director noted that
as soon as the theft Of the at
tendant's keys was discovered,
the locks in the East Building
were promptly changed.
Concerned by Backlog
DR.. Seckinger expressed partic-
ular concern on the backlog Of
criminally insane patients who
must be detained at Districts
General until room is available at
st. Elizabeths.
The Health Department. he
said, has been most apprehen-
sive concerning the practice of
combining insane or court cases in
wards other than the maximum
security ward" He added:
This department has been
forced to do this principally due
to the impact of public law 3l3,
fifth Congress (providing for the
mental observation Of criminal
case defendants) and the policy
OF st. Elizabeths Hospital that all
admissions with a criminal
charge, no matter how minor.
must be admitted to Howard Hall
chat hospitals maximum Sc
curity building). Therefore, when
beds are not available in Howard
Hall, District General Hospital is
compelled to take the cases on
wards which have only minimaI
security features"
Health officials explained that
the recommendations are Of a
stop-gap nature until an entirely
new and up-to-date psychiatric
building now under construction
can be finished.