Montgomery County sentinel., 1957-10-10
BY Dee FGirchiLd
In Maryland
Massive Polio
Drive Is Mapped

Plans for $44,900000 March of Dimes drive
next January, primarily to support massive re-
Mobilization program for thousands of disabled
polio victims, announced today by former
u. S. Senator George L. Radcliffe, Maryland
March of Dimes chairman, on his return from
meeting in New York with President Basil
OConnor and other top leaders of the National
Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.
Mr. Radcliffe said that the 1858 March of
Dimes would be conducted chiefly for the care
and rehabilitation of the thousands of post-acute
polio patients in the United States, because "the
March of Dimes believes that mere survival is
not enough" for the individuals SCARED by para
lytic polio.
He said that dramatic new advances in the
field of rehabilitation now make it possible for
many persons whose horizons once stretched no
further than a wheel chair or an iron lung to re-
turn to useful daily living.
Mr.. Radcliffe quoted famed rehabilitation spe-
cialist, DR.. Howard Rusk, of New York Univer-
sityBellevue Medical Center, who said at the
meeting :We cannot allow these handicapped
people to be cast aside, to live out their lives in
hopelessness. We must bring them back into the
community and into its life"
However, rehabilitation is 1ong-drawn out ex-
pensive and becoming more costly each year. Mr..
Radcliffe pointed out He cited figures which
show that the 3100 local chapters of the National
fOunudIlon are now spending ~ per cent OF
their funds for old patients, even though the Salk
vaccine has drastically reduced the number of
new cases.
He said that, in addition to the costly patient
care program, the March of Dimes will seek con-
tinued support for its professional education pro-
gram which has already given training of many
varieties to more than 5000 doctirs nurses and
therapists
Plans for an expanded research program also
were outlined The March of Dimes leader noted
that in the 20 years since the first March of
Dimes, its research grants which sponsored the
development of the Salk vaccine have also led to
unprecedented advances in the once mysterious
field of virus research. He said that virologists
supported by the March of Dimes have made
significant discoveries not only about polio and
poiorelated diseases but about many other af
flictions of man as well.
Mr. Radcliffe recalled that Dr. Thomas M
Rivers medical director of the National Founda
tion told the New York meeting "Over the last
~ years or so, we have uncovered so many leads
into the unknown of science and disease that we
plan to expand our research effort and to enlarge
our studies in the virus field. We stand at the
threshold of probably the greatest era in virus
research the world has ever known"
Commenting the future of the National
Foundation, Mr.. Radcliffe repeated the as.
surance of Mr. OConnor that the virus research
and professional education programs will be
major factors in whatever new program the or.
ganization undertakes. At the same time Mr.
OConnor made it clear that the National Founda-
ton would embark on new program only "when
the polio job no longer claims all our time and
funds"