Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-09
Doctors Back
Increases in
Hospital Fund
Society, However,
Opposes Some
Health Items

A District Medical Society
committee today made public
Recommendations to the Com
missioners strongly supporting
some increases proposed in the
Health Departments 1857 budg-
let request and opposing others.
The private doctors gave
strong Endorsement for an adj
ditional $597 .429 increase over
the amount the Commissioners
asked for D. C. General Hos
Ipital, plus enough money to hire
$50 new graduate nurses.
In non-hoSpital Health De-
partment activities. they urged
more money for public health
nursing, food and public health
inspectors, civil defense and legal
Ipsychiatric services.
/ They also made a strong plea
for increasing the amount the
city pays private voluntary hos
pitfalls for treating INDECENT pa
ItientS. They asked that the per
diem" rate per patient be in
Creased from $14 to $17.46-the
Iper-day patient rate D. C. Gen.
Ieral Hospital lists as its cost.
Oppose Dental Increase
The doctors took no stand on
proposed increases for mental
health activities, and opposed
increases to expand the dental
health program and to set up
new maternal health clinics
Throughout the city.
The Medical Society Commit
tee. headed by DR.. William P.
Herbst, made the recommends
Itions on the basis of a list of
possible increases drawn up by
the Health Department as rep
Preventative of its greatest needs
mot covered in the Commits
sioners' budget.
The Health Department list
was drawn for submission to the
Commissioners in the event ad-
ditional revenues would turn up
to permit an amendment in the
1857 budget request.
Letter to House Group
In a letter of its own to the
House subcommittee, the HerbSt
committee said it has had q
chance to go over the Health
Department budget ito an APP
preciable but not entirely salts
factory extent"
The committee said it felt
ID. C. Generals listed per diem
cost" of STAG per patient was
enthusiastically low" But it
proposed that this be estab-
lished as the rate for paying
private hospitals for treating
indigents.
| AS to D. C. Generals needs,
the doctors said the absence of
enough authorized nurses jobs
has broken down morale of med
ical stats, hindered recruiting
of new nurses and caused an
'unfavorable neonatal mortal
lily in the full-term and
premature nurseries"
These were the committees
comments on specific increases
Iproposd by the Health Depart
ment for its non-hospital ac-
Invites:
l. Support 100000 for 10
more public health nurses.
2. Oppose an additional $22,-
$50 proposed to set up new pre-
natal clinics away from D. c..
General.
Mental Health Teams
3. The committee "does not
have information" to permit a
stand on a request for $95,878 to
pay for is doctors to serve on
mental health "psychiatric
teams"
4. Oppose $29,980 to expand
dental health programs because
of greater needs elsewhere.
S. Strongly approve" funds
for new food and public health
inspectors.
6. Approved a $14,110 request
for civil defense co-ordinator
and secretary.
| z. Recommended $13,756 to
hire a psychiatrist and secretary
for legal psychiatric work, with
the provision that the money be
spent for the assistance of the
Juvenile Court"