SURGEON MILLER: expressed his interest in Dr. White’s address; that it called to mind a condition which exists at some of the T.B. hospitals. He said that a case of Dementia Praecox is often found with active T.B., and that where such a patient is accustomed to taking convulsions, it is very disturbing to the other patients at the hospital.
COL. FORBES: said that the N.P. cases could be sent to Marion, Indiana.
SURGEON MILLER: said he had a telegram saying that admittance was refused to active T.B.-Dementia Praecox cases.
COL. FORBES: recommended that he take this up with his Surgeon General.
SURGEON WILBOR: spoke concerning the patients at Gulfport, and stated that many of these men lack confidence in themselves as regards training and have to be encouraged. He recommended that the men be given a partial course of training in the hospital, after discharge, in order to give them sufficient confidence.
COL. FORBES: said that he believed that if a man were able to pursue six or seven hours of educational activity, he should not be hospitalized; that heavy machinery, etc. should not be in hospitals.
COL. FORBES called upon Captain Blackwood, U.S.N.
CAPTAIN BLACKWOOD: stated that he did not have anything special to say, as he had intended reserving his remarks until later. He said that he was discouraged at hearing so many exaggerated adjectives used by the conferees; that it should be realized that the patients came from all walks of life; that the physical examination upon entering the service was superficial in many cases, and the men are only now being examined as thoroughly as they should have been before; that they are now receiving better treatment than they would in civil hospitals, as the Government is trying to eliminate the possibility of the patient’s having a disease of which he is not aware, and thereby save future trouble and expense for the Government.
COL. FORBES: “Would you say that in all cases of medical doubt, a man should be x-ray’d?”
CAPTAIN BLACKWOOD: “Yes.”