The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1959-05-07

inns is NdtlOldl I1OSplldl w eek,
May 10-16 during which the Ma
tons hospitals make special eff
fort to tell the story of their ac-
tivities to the people they serve.
Our theme this year is More Roads
to Recovery" The constantly eX-
banding services your hospitals are
providing to bring you longer life
and better health.
Increasingly the roads to recov-
cry are centering in the hospitals.
For the effective diagnosis and
treatment of a growing number
Of conditions, the doctor must be
able to call upon the teamwork of
many skilled professional and
technical workers, and an ever
growing array of scientific tools
and supplies. For economy and eff
ficiency, these are centered in the
hospital.
1t is the hospitals responsibility
to see that these skilled hands
and costly tools are in constant
readiness to serve, tWenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week,
throughout the year The hospital
must always be prepared to meet
the unpredictable need whether
for the patient already under care,
for the individual emergency, or
for community disaster The emer-
gency entrance of the Garrett
County Memorial is the door in
our community that is always open.
Medical progress has created
hospital progress and in turn hos
pitfalls are furthering medical prog
ress. Miracles are expected of
hospitals nowadays, and much of
the time they come to pass. Sup
pcrtive measures such as blood
transfusions, and intravenOuS
therapy have made successful sur
gerry possible in cases formerly
considered hopeless. What was
spectacular yesterday is taken for
granted by the public today
Also taken for granted today is
maternity care in the hospitals.
Medical care in pregnancy and
child birth assures mothers and
babies of an optimal chance not
only for life but for future health.
Hospital delivery is part of this
assurance As a result, the hospital
has become the nations birthplace.
As a result of better health care,
the proportion OF persons in the
Older age group is steadily in
creasing Their needs are creating
new demanG5 for short-term hos
pitfalls care, their needs are stimU-
lating a wide range of expanding
programs in the field Of chronic
care, and have given fresh impetus
to the attach on killers and dis
ablers such as cancer or heart dis
ease.
The smallest hospital today can
offer serwioesrroads to recovery
that were unknown even in the
great medical centers of yesterday.
All of these increases in services,
and the concentration Of services
have increased the number OF en-
ployees required to provide 3erv-
ices for each patient For every
one hundred patients hospitaliZed
each day, there are, on the aver
age, sixty-three more employees
than in 1916
A non-profit institution serving
the public hospitals must provide
care for those unable to pay. For
some of these patients, the hospital
must pay all the costs of care, for
welfare patients, government
agencies pay Tar less than the cost
of care, and the hospital must make
up the difference.
Areas which directly provide the
new road to recovery are largely
responsible for the increased cost
of operating the hospital of today.
In these special services accurate
prediction and maximum Standard
zation cannot apply. While hospit-
ais may establish schedules for
ton3illectomies the stork does not
fly q regular schedule, and we