COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SEVENTY-NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON S. 223 A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A 78455 No. I MAY 24, 1945 Printed for the use of the Committee on the District of Columbia UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1945 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA J HOSPITAL CENTER A009 THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1945 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISCAL AFFAIRS OF THE Washington, D. C. The Subcommittee on Fiscal Affairs of the Committee or the District of Columbia met in the committee room, 345 Old House Office Building, at 10 a. m., Hon. John W. Murphy (subcommittee chairman) presiding. Mr. MURPHY. The meeting will come to order. We are meeting this morning to consider and take testimoney on S. 223, an act to provide for the establishment of a modern, adequate, and efficient hospital center in the District of Columbia. Without objection, a copy of the act will be inserted in the record at this point. (S. 223 is as follows:) [S. 223, 79th Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To provide for the establishment of a modern, adequate, and efficient hospital center in the District of Columbia Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) the board of trustees selected in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, and their successors, are hereby incorporated and made a body politic and corporate, by the name of "The Washington Hospital Corporation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Corporation'), and by that name may contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded in any court of law or equity of competent jurisdiction, and may have and use a common seal. (b) The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be conducted by a board of trustees, which shall be composed of nine members, unless otherwise increased as hereinafter provided, one of whom shall be appointed by the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, one by the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, one by the Community Chest of Washington, District of Columbia, two by the board of directors of Garfield Memorial Hospital, two by the board of directors of Central Dispensary and Emergency Hospital, two by the board of directors of Episcopal Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital, and two by the board of directors of any other participating hospital as described in section 2, all of such hospitals being in the District of Columbia. Each of such trustees shall be appointed for a term of five years and the original appointments shall be made within sixty days after the date of enactment of this Act; and such Corporation shall have power to make bylaws not inconsistent with this Act for the conduct of its affairs. Any vacancy on the board of trustees shall be filled by appointment made in the same manner as in the case of the original appointment. If any of those entitled to make appointments shall fail at any time to appoint any trustee, then such appointment shall be made by the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service for service temporarily until such trustee shall be appointed in the regular manner. (e) The board of trustees first appointed shall meet within ninety days after the date of enactment of this Act and elect a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, and such additional officers as the bylaws may provide, and also transact such other business as may properly come before them, including the adoption of bylaws for the proper conduct of the Corporation. Thereafter the meetings of the trustees shall be held at such times and places as may be provided in the bylaws. The Corporation shall not be conducted for profit, and it is hereby declared to be a charitable and benevolent institution and all of its funds and property shall be exempt from taxation. (d) The Corporation shall have perpetual succession and shall have power to acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property, and generally to do all lawful acts necessary to carry out the functions vested in it by this Act and to provide for the operation of the hospital center established in accordance with the provisions of this Act. SEC. 2. The Corporation is authorized to enter into agreements with Garfield Memorial Hospital, the Central Dispensary and Emergency Hospital, Episcopal Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital, and any other hospital in the District of Columbia desiring to come under the provisions of this Act on a fully participating basis (hereinafter referred to as "participating hospitals") providing for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of a modern, adequate, and efficient hospital center in the District of Columbia, with a capacity of not more than one thousand five hundred beds and with all necessary parking space, appurtenances, equipment, and other facilities, such as operating rooms, laundries, laboratories, X-ray machines, heating plant, nurses' school and home, and the like. Such agreements may be conditioned upon a suitable site, buildings, and equipment for such hospital center being provided in accordance with section 3 of this Act; and shall provide that when a suitable site, buildings, and equipment are so provided, the participating hospitals will undertake to maintain and operate the hospital center, under the supervision and control of the board of trustees of the Corporation and in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and that the participating hospitals will devote their full resources to this purpose: Provided, That no part of the funds of one hospital shall be required to be employed for the maintenance or operation of any part of the center used exclusively by another hospital. Such agreements shall provide for the payment by the participating hospitals of one-third of the initial cost of establishing and equipping the hospital center, such amount to be allocated among the participating hospitals as may be agreed upon by the participating hospitals and the Corporation, as nearly as may be upon the basis of the space in the hospital center operated and maintained by the respective participating hospitals and paid in accordance with the provisions of section 6. SEC. 3. (a) After the Corporation has entered into agreements with the participating hospitals in accordance with section 2, the board of trustees of the Corporation shall select, with the approval of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a suitable site within the District of Columbia for such hospital center. (b) Within the limits of appropriations made therefor pursuant to section 6 of this Act and subject to the approval of the board of trustees of the Corporation, the Federal Works Administrator is authorized and directed, as promptly as may be upon the termination of the war (1) to acquire, by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, the site selected by the board of trustees for the hospital center, together with such real property as may be situated thereon; (2) to provide buildings (either by new construction, or alteration and renovation of existing structures), additional improvements and appurtenances, and such equipment and machinery as may be necessary for the proper operation and maintenance of such hospital center; and (3) upon completion of such hospital center, to convey, on behalf of the United States, all right, title, and interest therein to the Corporation. (c) All plans, designs, and specifications for buildings and equipment for such hospital center, and for improvements upon its site, shall be subject to the approval of the board of trustees of the Corporation. SEC. 4. When the hospital center has been conveyed to the Corporation, it shall be maintained and operated by the participating hospitals under the supervision and control of the Corporation. Each of the participating hospitals shall be entitled to the exclusive use of such part or parts of the hospital center as may be determined by agreement between such hospital and the Corporation, for the purpose of conducting its operations as a hospital within such part or parts of the hospital center. The participating hospitals jointly, under the supervision and control of the Corporation, shall maintain and operate within the hospital center such central heating, laundry, and other facilities and services necessary to the proper and efficient operation and maintenance of such center as the participating hospitals and the Corporation agree may best be operated or per |