Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-11-20
Says 81 Million
Was Wasted on
Security Ward
By MYRA MACPHERSON
Star staff Writer

ton and Labor Committee,
made the complaint st a hear
ing on the hospital. If the ap-
preparation had not bypasSed
his committee. he said, perhaps
81 million would not have been
"squandered" on a building
that does not meet the neces-
sary requirements for a maxi
mum security ward.
Mr.. Powell's complaint re-
ferred to money appropriated
for the John Howard Maximum
Security Pavilion, built three
years ago. He contends that
approval for the pavilion's con-
struction costs should have
originated in his committee. He
requested that the Health, Edu-
cation and Welfare Department
submit a list of all money spent
on alterations and buildings at
st. Elizabeths.
Two More Buildings
DR.. Dale Cameron, hospital
superintendent. had testified in
previous hearings that, while
John Howard was adequate for
maximum security needs, the
problem Of prisoner patients re-
quired two additional buildings
for medium and minimum Sc
curity at a cost of 81 million
each. Mr.. Powell contends that
this should have been consid-
cred at the time of the APP
preparation for the construction
of John Howard.
A staff member Of the House
Appropriations Committee in
formed of Mr.. Powell's re-
marks. noted that any member
OF Congress, on a point Of
order, can knock out any au-
thorized appropriated items In
bill. This could have been
done at the time of the appro-
, priation which included au-
thorization Of money for the
building of John Howard
! Pavilion. he said.
Mr.. Powell also said hi
\ wanted the committee to get
to the bottom of the dis.
: crepancies in the statistics o.
4 the police department and st
: Elizabeths concerning the
number Of escapes still al
large. The police say A: the
. hospital says 49,"
Before Mr.. Powell's appear
ance his special House sub
committee. headed by Repre-
sentative Daniels, Democrat of
New Jersey. tried to clarity
what the committee termed
apparently a comprehensive
failure to Coordinate a pro-
gram" between the District
Health Department and st.
ElizabethS concerning the
placement of patients in foster
homes.
Needs Stressed
DR.. Cameron said that half
the present patients could be
treated in suitable nursing
homes, foster homes and
chronic disease hospitals If
such facilities were available.
Today, however, DR.. Murray
Grant, District health director,
testified that ''in the past
period Of almost four years
we have had 40 available places
and often as high as 80. In
four years only 81 patients
have been placed. At present
SO are in homes and there are
SO vacant positions, 81 for col
ored and seven for white"
DR.. Grant said st. Elizabeths'
failure to make the best pos
sible use of facilities available"
has turned the foster home
program into one of such
Illustration that one of the
public health pSychiatric social
workers quit in discourage
ment. He said one Of the major
problems is getting patients to
accept the "desirability of NOV
ing into a home after years of
living in hospital"
But DR.. Cameron said 10 Of
the 38 available places soon
, will be filled with patients who
/ are now being procesSed for
: removal and six others are
being filled. He said that this
r leaves % actual vacancies and
that the hospital was mot yet
able to get a match between
, any of the patients who are
; ready for these homes and the
, homes available"
! Difficult Process
He also said that IL was a
difficult process to prepare
patients for leaving the hos
pital and that it took several
months and sometimes years
before a patient could make
such an adjustment.
DR.. Cameron said he feels
an increase in the contribution
for running foster homes would
make it easier to match
patients with adequate homes.
The present stipend for fos-
ter homes is $110 a month.
DR.. Grant, asked what it costs
the District to keep a patient
at st. Eiizabeths, said it was
S10.71 per day for the last six
months Of this fiscal year
roughly 1910 a month.
But DR.. Grant said that in
the three years the foster home
program has been in existence,
the District actually has been
losing money because the
amount appropriated to st.
Elizabeths was no. reduced Is
the number of patients was.