Vol. I, No. 8 I 1^1 j:, tjo. q'')
June 1955
Durham, N. C.
FOUR PRESIDENTS of the Women’s Auxiliary cast admiring looks at a big birthday
cake on the fifth anniversary of the volunteers in April. Familiar pink-clad workers at
Duke Hospital, they are left to right: Mrs. Julian Ruffin, new president; Mrs. Bayard
Carter, the Auxiliary’s first president; Mrs. Watt Eagle, second president; and Mrs.
Shelton Smith, who just completed a two-year term as leader of the group. For other new
officers, see “From the Auxiliary.”
Gel a Ticket?
Read and Heed
If you’ve found ii parking tickct on
youi' windshield sineu tliG new reguliitioiis
went into cfCoct, this is for you:
Lanes one tlirough four are reserved
for patients and visitors whose cars do
not liave University or Hospital stickers.
All other lanes, except the new hard-
surfaced area across from Baker House,
are reserved for cars, with or without
stickers, l)eloiiKing to the general public,
visitors or liospital staff. Tlie new park
ing area is for Hospital and Medical
School staiT cars onlj’.
Special memo for tlie Auxiliary volun
teers: Women whose cars do not bear
stickers are considered to bo visitors.
Those who do drive cars witli University
or Hospital stickers must follow the
existing rules pertaining to those stickers.
Post Graduate
Course to Open
Duke University Medical School’s
1!)55 ])OHt-ffraduate course for doctors
from throufjhout the Southeast will
be held June 20-2;^, Dr. William M.
Ni(!h()lson, director of post-graduate
education, has announced.
Desifi’ned ])riinarily to brinj' the
"enei'al practitioner up to date in the
newest advances in medicine, this
year’s course will include six lectures
relatinjr to i)uhiioiuiry disease and
surgery. Otlu'r toi)ics will include
treatment of i)e])tic ulcer and tic
douioui'cux, identification of conunon
fungi, and roundtable discussions of
“The Anxious Patient” and “Verti
go.”
Duke Census
Hits New Peak
Duke admitted 17,823 patients dur
ing 1954, marking the ninth consecu
tive ])ost-war year the census has
grown.
Starting with a recoi-d numbei' of
14,4.57 ])atients in 1945, the number
of patients who actually OL‘Cui)ied beds
in tlu> hosi)ital has grown steadily.
Xow api)roaching its 25th anniver
sary (Jidy 21), the Hospital admitted
its half-millionth patient last Novem-
bei'.
While ni()i'(‘ pati(>nls were' admitted
lhan ever Iw'fore in the 24-year history
of till' Hospital, the average length
of stay was rc'ducc'd last year to nine'
days. This means that the average
stay has di'Oi)pe(i by almost one full
day during the last two years.
“This r(‘duction is important, but
perhaps moi’c^ significant was a record
numbc'r of almost 18!),()()() visits to
the Out-Patient Clinics,” Koss Porter
said. “We feel that this means that
our continuing i)i‘ogram of ])reventive
medicine is accomplishing its puri)ose
of keeping many ])eople out of hos
pital beds by diagnosing and treating
diseasi' in the early stages,” he ex-
plaini'd.
Sonu' 14,572 of the patients ad
mitted last year (‘ame from all 100
counties of Noi-fli ('ai’olina. 'Phi' re
maining .‘},251 were from 41 other
stat('s and 12 foi-eign countries. Some
892 were from Virginia and 7!)9 from
South ('arolina.
l\l()i’e tluin one half of all the
patients paid only part or none of the
cost of their hospitalization. Duke
University made up 21 i)er cent of the
cost, cities and counties, ])er cent,
and State government and charitable
agencies, 4(5 j)er cent.