Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-09-01
WALKING ENCYCLOPEDIA
Cal Flynn IS the ByWord
BY FRANCES LIDE
Star Staff Writer

BY FRANCES LIDE
Star staff Writer
Call Flynn" has become a
sort Of byword In area hos
pital and welfare circles since
Mrs. Dorothy E. Flynn re-
ceived the first paycheck of
her life from the Hospital
Service Agency just Is years
ago today.
Starting as an interview
er" with the agency admin
istering funds which provide
hospital care for the med
ically INDECENT not eligible for
care at tax expense, Mrs.
Flynn is a sort of walking
encyclopedia on subjects
varying from legal and tax
matters to common-senSe
household budgeting.
Her present title is rather
acknowledgement Admins
traitor Of the D. C. Hospital
ization Program of the Hos
pital Council and Program
Administrator of the Hospital
Service Agency of the Ma
tional Capital Area. (Both
are supported by United
GiverS FundS.)
But it's not as involved as
many of the cases that regu-
larry come under her scrutiny,
either routinely or because
someone called Flynn"
known to thousands of
physicians, social workers,
health and welfare aSsocia-
ton individuals throughout
the Metropolitan Area" Mrs.
Flynn has resolved the health
problems of thousands of
families through her out
standing ability to ferret out
the complete eligibility de-
tails of the many sources Of
financial assistance and to
direct the needy patient to
the appropriate source" in
the words of William M.
Butcher, the Hospital Coun-
ellis executive director.
Some Of the knottier prob
lens hinge on jurisdiction.
For instance, Mrs. Flynn said
there are fascinating tech
nicalitieS which determine
whether an INDECENT patient
is the responsibility of the
District government or the
UGF.
Transport Problems
One of these relates to the
conveyance in which the
patient is transported to the
hospital. If a D. C. vehicle
is used. the District govern
ment assumes responsibility,
provided the patients income
doesn't rule out eligibility for
aid.
When she first read this
regulation, Mrs. Flynn ex-
claimed, Why, that would
apply to a trash truck"
And, sure enough, not too
long afterward, a trash COL
lector discovered an infant
abandoned in a trash re-
ceptacle which he promptly
picked up, baby and all, and
rushed to the nearest hos
pital.
That happened a long time
ago. But multiply this one
jurisdictional regulation by
countless others, not only in
the District but in other COM
munities of the area, and you
have an idea of the complica-
tons that come up in one
phase of Mrs. Flynn's many
faceted job.
Her qualifications?
Mrs. Flynn, who first served
as a volunteer, recalls that
when she was offered a paid
position with the agency she
cited as her only qualifica-
tons "a disproportionate
amount Of curiosity and a
reasonably good disposition"
Daughter of the late Mr..
William John Eynon, promi-
nent Washington business
man, she was brought up
without any thought of ever
working.
Actually, she was a school
dropout." After six weeks at
Holton Arms Junior College,
she had an attack of appen-
dicitiS and never returned.
She was more interested in
thoughts Of marriage at the
time, she remembers.
Birthday Check
Her first pay check from
the agency represented the
first money she had ever
earned, she said.
And, while she we'll re-
members that the date was
September /, 1888 CIT also
was my birthday she was
surprised and touched last
week that the Hospital Coun-
Gil executive had called The
Stars attention to the ami
versary. ("I didn't know that
he even knew about it, she
exclaimed0
The basic objective of the
program she administers is
to help those in need Of med
zeal care who are unable to
wholly finance their own.
Establishing eligibility is