SENIOR SURGEON J. E. DEDMAN, USPHS (R): There are several things that occur to me. In the first place there is the question of food. Of course that is the vital thing in every hospital. In our hospital, as I said before, we have a large number of negroes and what you give to the white boys in the north is not satisfactory to the colored patient. I think it is an important thing to try to give the men what they want in the way of food.
When I went to Greenville it was the custom to give the men breakfast at about seven o’clock; luncheon at 10:30; noon meal at 12 o’clock; at noon the men were not hungry and were generally dissatisfied with the food; at 3 o’clock, after the rest hour, they would have another nourishment; supper was served at five o’clock and as a rule they did not care much for that. Then we would send over to the wards large quantities of milk and eggs and bread and butter. They did not need any base balls. They played ball with apples.
It occurred to me that that was a bad system. We omitted the morning nourishment and the afternoon nourishment and I substituted an evening cafeteria luncheon thinking that it was a long gap from the supper at five o’clock to breakfast at 7. We thereby saved a great deal of money and since we did that we find the patients think the food is fine. We also find that they sleep better by taking this light luncheon just before they retire. I mention that for what it is worth.
The rest hour is important in tuberculosis. That is why hospitalization is so essential, because men will not take proper rest. We have a morning rest from 9 to 10, afternoon rest from 1 to 3 and evening rest from 6 to 6:45. The last period is not universal, and we wonder how you can get an accurate record of a man’s condition when you do not get his evening temperature. We find that it has been a great help to us. When I instituted this rest period from 6 to 6:45 I told the men it was for their good and although they objected at first, it appealed to their reason, after they were told why it was done, and we have had no trouble.
Another thing we have inaugurated along this line. I talked with Dr. Smith last spring. He agreed to send to our hospital a school for chiefs. I think this was a most helpful thing, because we had chiefs of medical staffs come to us and take a course that would tend to make for uniformity in administrative medical work in our tuberculous hospitals. I have talked since that time with several of the men who came down to take that course and I believe every one of them expressed the opinion that it was very helpful to him to have an opportunity to exchange ideas and to have the same methods for carrying of medical staff work which required tact and executive ability.
There is one thing I could not pass by because it is of such great importance to the Federal Employees Compensation Commission. We have sometimes employees engaged along various lines, and shortly after I arrived at the station I found one or two who said they had tuberculosis. I think it is most essential to see that not only one man but a board of medical officers examine every employee when he comes into a tuberculous hospital to make sure that he does not show activity in tuberculosis so that later he will not have a claim against the Federal Employees Compensation Commission by saying that he was working in a tuberculosishospital and contracted tuberculosis while in the hospital.
There are many things I would like to speak of. I was very much impressed with what the doctor said about entertainment. I believe it helps the morale and is the most wonderful thing in the world. We can spend sleepless nights building up morale in a hospital and one man can disturb the entire morale.
In closing I want to say, after all is said and done, the big thing with us is the backing we get from the heads of our department and from the Surgeon General. I have known times I felt like throwing up the sponge. All of us have gone through these moments. The main and only thing that keeps us up is the encouragement we get from the heads of the department and I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation.
GEN. SAWYER: This meeting was called for the week of the 20th, with the understanding of the Budget Director, General Dawes, that on tomorrow the Chiefs of the various Departments of the Government were to hold their semi-annual session and we thought that you would enjoy that occasion. It has been found impossible in the compilation of the facts and figures necessary to hold that meeting tomorrow. Therefore it becomes necessary for us to change our program and I am happy to announce to you that I feel sure you will have quite as interesting a program as you would have otherwise, for tomorrow we will have as the first speaker of the morning, Congressman Madden, the head of the Appropriations Committee. If you have not heard him I am sure you will be very much interested both in what he has to say and in the way he says it. We are then to have as the next speaker of the morning, General Dawes. General Dawes is remaining over tomorrow that he may have the pleasure of meeting you personally, and I predict that you will agree, after you have heard General Dawes, that if you have had no other excuse or no other compensation in coming to this meeting, you will have it in hearing General Dawes. For the balance of the program of tomorrow forenoon, it comes to my mind that possibly it would be most interesting to you all if we were to take up some of the questions that come to your mind that have not been presented in this program. This was suggested to me by one of the gentlemen here who I noticed does not talk much but who evidently thinks a lot, that it would be to the interest of a good many if they might bring up some subject that they are particularly interested in. So we are going to have in the morning a question box, and if any of you have questions in which you are particularly interested and will present them at the desk of the Secretary, we shall try to have them taken up for discussion at this round-table hour tomorrow forenoon.
President Harding will not be here in the morning. When I spoke to President Harding to come over and address this meeting, he said to me, “General, you know Mrs. Harding and I are to receive this body tomorrow evening.” I am sure that you are going to have in that reception, in the personal contact with the President and Mrs. Harding, a joy such as you have not contemplated.