ADMIRAL STITT: reminded the men that at the meeting yesterday afternoon a motion was made to discuss the paper on the “The Social Service Worker” this morning, and there were about 25 minutes for the discussion of each of the four subjects—the social service worker, disciplinary regulations, relation of district managers, and physiotherapy and occupational therapy in hospitals.
CAPT. BLACKWOOD: said it was his opinion that the social service worker has done more to aid the Commanding Officer and to follow up the work on the ex-service man, as well as the service man, than anything else he knew of that has been introduced into the hospitals. The social service work in the Navy is all done by the Red Cross, one of the most wonderful organizations in the United States for doing good.
SURGEON CHRONQUEST emphasized the point that diversion and recreation should be distinguished from the social service, with which it is so often linked.
SURGEON LASCHE: stated that at first he was sceptical about the introduction of people under extraneous control into the hospital, but that he incorporated the Red Cross into the official organization of the hospital and made the director a member of the staff. He believed in keeping a fairly close supervision over the activities until he knew the individual, and made a rule that the social worker should send a carbon of every letter written about the patients to the officer in charge. It was found that at the beginning there was no possible reason for about 30% of the letters written, but only one-half of one percent of the letters produced harmful results. He said he was inclined to think that owing to the fact that the Red Cross has the benefit of a nation-wide organization that for the present it is very much better to utilize their services than to establish government employees to do the same work.
COL. BRATTON: said that experience had shown him that the Red Cross is a great aid in carrying on relation to the outside world. He told of the situation in Atlanta. When the hospital was established he found it would be necessary to satisfy the people of Atlanta that the wounded boys were being properly taken care of, and was fortunate to secure the services of a first-class man from the Red Cross. The result was that the people became very interested in the work and sent committees with food, also provided pictures two or three times a week and all kinds of entertainment.
SURGEON PAYNE stated that one of the greatest difficulties he had experienced had been in sidetracking the people who, though kindly disposed, brought food and all kinds of entertainment which were injurious to the patients. He said he did not believe in any kind of athletics in a hospital, unless under the Physiotherapy Department, neither did he believe in dances in a hospital. He said people would bring in all kinds of food and the patients would eat it before going to mess, and then of course would complain of the hospital food furnished. The greatest benefit from the Red Cross had been the coordination of those activities.
COL. BRATTON asked that some of the men who served in General Hospital #6 speak on this subject.
SURGEON WILLHITE: stated he had served under Colonel Bratton, and agreed heartily with all he had said. He stated also that in his work in the hospital in Philadelphia the Red Cross had done the finest kind of social service work, coordinating all the agencies that Dr. Payne spoke of as so detrimental to him, and he believed had been a very great benefit rather than a hindrance.
Dr. Dedman took up the work of the Red Cross in taking care of relatives of patients who come to the hospital. Often these people spend all their money for railroad fare, and have none left when they reach the hospital, and the hospital has to take care of them. He said he had arranged that four or five rooms be fixed up for such people as this and believed some definite authority should be had from the Veterans’ Bureau to house these people and furnish their meals. He stated that some boys will ask for things and others will not. He referred to an instance in which a patient had told a lady that he needed a shirt, and two days later when she brought him one she gave it to him before the whole ward and the boy was ridiculed for a long time afterward. He had had trouble in getting the work done through the social welfare workers in the hospital, as the public wants the individual glory of handing something to the boys themselves. The Red Cross has also been a great aid in investigating home conditions of the patients, especially of tubercular patients who want to go home to die. Also, in the case of a man who asks for a long furlough because his mother or sister is dying, the Red Cross will investigate and get an immediate report, and many times it will be found that the mother or sister is not sick at all.
SURGEON PAYNE: stated that he did not want to be misunderstood, that he did not mean to take credit away from the Red Cross.