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VOLUME 15. NUMBER 4
MAY. 1968
DURHAM. NORTH CAROLINA
DUKE MEDICAL CENTER
MINIMUMWAGE HIKED
On Saturday, April 20, the Board of Trustees of Duke
University endorsed the University's proposal that the
minimum wage at Duke be increased to $1.45 per hour.
The action followed by 10 days an announcement by
Mr. Wright Tisdale, Chairman of the Board of Trustees,
that Duke University would increase its minimum wage
to $1.60 per hour effective July 1, 1969. Mr. Tisdale
went on to say that by July 1, 1968, Duke would make
a substantial move toward the $1.60 minimum rate.
The new $1.45 wage base which goes into effect on
May 6, 1968 will affect employees in both the Medical
Center and the University. As of the payroll begin
ning that date, any employee making less than $1.45
per hour is being increased to $1.45 per hour. In
addition, 1968 increases scheduled for July 1 will
take place instead on June 3, 1968, some four weeks
earlier than originally scheduled. This June review
will cover all employees who were earning above $1.34
per hour prior to the May 6 increase.
For imiversities and colleges, the present Federal
minimum wage is $1.15 per hour with steps to $1.30 as
of Feb. 1, 1969, $1.45 as of Feb. 1, 1970, and $1.60
as of Feb. 1, 1971. Duke's announcement, therefore,
puts us more than a year and a half ahead of the Fed
erally required minimum.
DUKE MEDICAL CENTER RECEIVES GRANT
TO AID PHYSICIANSSUPPDRT CENTER
The Duke University Medical Center has received a
$262,565 grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to
increase interchange between the medical center and
private physicians in the areas of continuing educa
tion, research and clinical medicine.
The Foundation will make the funds available over
a five-year period and will aid Duke's Department of
Community Health Sciences in establishment of a
Physician Support Center. The Physician Support
Center initially will work through two offices - one
at Watts Hospital to serve the practicing physicians
of the Durham area, and the other at Duke Hospital.
The office at Watts Hospital will be staffed by a
faculty member from Duke's Department of Community
Health Sciences who will work in the teaching program
at Watts; a bibliographic librarian to provide Watts
staff physicians with journals, books and photocopies
of requested source materials; and a secretary to
provide information regarding conferences, teaching
sessions and special clinics. Ultimately, plans call
for the Duke office to serve center offices at hosp
itals in other communities as well.
Air Evacuation Adds New
DimensionTo Medical Care
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Evacuation by helicopter is common, often dangerous
but frequently life saving, on the battlefields of
Vietnam. The same procedure, without the attending
dangers can prove to be life-saving off the battlefield
as well.
A helicopter crew from Ft. Bragg demonstrated the use
of a helicopter for emergency transportation in time of
civilian disaster during a Disaster Medical Care Conf
erence at Duke University April 5 and 6. The program
attracted prominent speakers from federal and state
agencies, the American Red Cross and private medical
practice.
The evacuation demonstration on the Duke baseball field
was coordinated by Lt. Col. James W. Ransone of the Army
Medical Corp. It was part of a study of military facili
ties used as a disaster resource. Ransone said the
principle advantages of medical air evacuation were
ability to get into inaccessible areas and speed. Dis
advantages are cost of the equipment and aircraft, but
he added, that it is conceivable that the aircraft could
be used for other purposes by governmental agencies when
not in use for emergency purposes, thereby justifying
the cost factor.
The meeting, which was the 23rd such regional conf
erence on disaster medical care sponsored by the Ameri
can Medical Association's Council on National Security
in cooperation with the state medical society, illustra
ted that helicopter air evacuations add another dimen
sion to the delivery of health care to persons in areas
generally, considered inaccessible.