Contrast, if you please, with the conditions in our hospitals the patient in private hospital, who is paying from $10 to $50 per day for private nursing, hospital accommodations, etc., and a correspondingly high rate for special professional services, and who in addition to this is losing heavily because of his absence from his personal business. In the latter case there is a much greater incentive for getting well, a greater incentive for requesting that special nurses and other expenses be cut off at the earliest moment it is found that they are no longer needed and for the additional request that they be discharged from the hospital as early as possible after the maximum benefits from hospitalization have been received. In the one case, the private patient is paying freely a large sum of money to get well. In the other case, the patients of our Veterans’ hospitals in many cases are paid liberally for being sick.
In making the above statement, we do not wish to be misunderstood. We all know that we have among our patients in the Veterans’ Hospitals some of the best type of men anywhere to be found; some of the most ambitious; some who are exceedingly anxious to have their health restored and be returned to an earning status in life at the earliest possible moment; but, unfortunately, this does not apply by any manner of means to all the patients whom we are hospitalizing. Out of the disabled arising from an army of nearly five million men, naturally there will bob up representative types of every manner of man in existence. As representatives of Veterans’ Hospitals we owe to our Government as well as to our patient our best efforts to help, not only toward the rehabilitation of every soldier who can be rehabilitated but we are also obligated to help develop this program upon the most economical basis without sacrificing efficiency and the most satisfactory constructive results.”
MR. BURKE: stated that the subjects were now open for discussion, and called on Colonel Patterson for a few words.
COLONEL PATTERSON, of the U.S. Veterans’ Bureau,: stated that it had been a great personal loss to him that he had been unable to attend all of the meetings. He then spoke on the policy of the Veterans’ Bureau with respect to the utilization of contract hospitals and Government institutions. He stated that the Bureau has been for some months endeavoring to take the beneficiaries of the Bureau out of contract institutions and put them into Governmental institutions for several reasons—first, the law says we must utilize to the maximum extent the Government facilities in existence. Another reason is that the majority of contract hospitals are unsatisfactory from the treatment standpoint, if from no other reason, as many of these contract hospitals are purely boarding houses which originated merely for the purpose of making money out of the Government, by taking care of beneficiaries of the Veterans’ Bureau. Of course there are many contract hospitals in which this is not true, but it has been determined that better treatment at least equal cost can be obtained in the Government hospital. Another reason is that the civilian hospital is not particularly interested and does not desire to make the necessary reports. He also mentioned discipline. The contract hospitals do not like to discipline a man because it may lead to the loss of that patient. He stated that every time the Hospital Section of the Medical Division recommends the closing of a contract hospital the Bureau is immediately bombarded by letters from Congressmen, Senators, the American Legion, United Veterans, and other organizations, but the Veterans’ Bureau has been trying to stand firm.
The next subject he took up was the fact that a beneficiary gets more compensation while he is in a hospital. This, however, cannot be changed except by Act of Congress, and the Medical Division has recommended to the Director that the man’s compensation be reduced while he is in the hospital.
He took up next disciplinary regulations. With regard to payment of transportation, he stated that this money could not be deducted from the man’s compensation without Congressional action.
He spoke also on the fact that under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act a man discharged with a disability not connected with the service, who has been denied compensation, can get training even if his disability is the direct result of his own misconduct, and that he is entitled to treatment for any disease contracted while taking training if it interferes with the continuance of his training. The Medical Division recommended some time ago that Section 3 training be discontinued and that no man be given training unless his disability is the result of service or aggravated thereby.
He said he hoped that the gentlemen present would express their opinion as to whether or not meetings similar to this one should be held annually.
With regard to the attitude of the Veterans’ Bureau towards the various Services, he stated that when allegations are made all the Veterans’ Bureau can do is to send them to the Head of the Service, asking him to take the usual steps to find out whether or not those things are true. On the other hand, if there is a charge a man is mistreated, the Veterans’ Bureau must investigate it. It is a very peculiar situation for one Department to investigate something conducted in another Department.
Regarding complaints, he cited one case. A letter was received from an insane man in the west Roxbury Hospital, who signed the letter “All the patients in the hospital”, and complained about everything in the institution. A letter was immediately received from a Congressman, then another, and one from a Senator. The institution had been inspected only ten days previous and the Veterans’ Bureau was sure the allegations were not true, but sent out another man to investigate the matter. Later the Bureau received copies of similar letters which the insane man had sent to President Harding, King George and the Prince of Wales. He mentioned this as an illustration of what the Veterans’ Bureau has to put up with.