N T E R C
MEDICAL CENTER
DUKE UNIVERSITY
VOIAJME NUMBER ()/19()(i
Tlio recently opened Statler Hilton Inn, shown above left, is the home of the new inike Hospital self-care unit.
(See
story below.) Coordinator of the unit, Mrs. Hilda M. Parrish, is shown at right talking to two patients in the inn’s
dining room.. As coordinator of the unit, Mrs. Parrish will be on duty at the inn daily acting as hostess and recep
tionist for the patients. She will advise patients as to their schedules and help them in meeting appointments and
will work closely with physicians. Nursing Service, and the Department of Dietetics in coordinating their patient
services at the unit. At the time of her appointment, ilrs. Parrish was administrative secretary to Mr. Charles H.
Frenzel, administrative director. She has been on the staff at the medical center for thirteen years.
Self-Care Unit Established at Local Inn
Duko Ilosi^ital ])atieiits wlio
are able to take care of them
selves with sii])ervisioii but do
not need continual observation
can now live in a hotel while
"cttin" needed medical treat
ment.
The hospital has nuide a con
tractual arran>:ement with the
recently oj)oned Statler Hilton
Inn—located several blocks from
the hospital—for the leasinfr of
20 rooms on the inn’s third floor
(with an option on the remain
ing six rooms on that floor) for
the ])urpose of establishing a
self-care uiut for its patients.
The unit is designed to allow
patients to f?et hos])ital services
iit less cost, helj) conserve the
siipi)ly of professional health
])ersonnel, and free hos])ital fa
cilities for the seriously ill.
“The change in atmos])here is
welcomed by most of those who
formerly had long hospital
stays,” said Mrs. Hilda ]\I. Par
rish, coordinator of the new unit.
Part of the j)opularity of the
unit is ])robably also associated
with the amount of saving in
hosi)ital costs, for patients using
the new unit save almost 50 j)er
cent over what they would have
to pay to be in the hospital for
the same period of time. (Pa
tients pay for their aceonmioda-
tions at the inn through the
IIosj)ital Business Office, as the
hosi)ital ]>ays the hotel on a
monthly basis.)
To be eligible for the unit, a
])atieiit must be ambulatory and
fully able to participate in his
own care. He receives instruc
tion on self-care from his physi
cian and others on the hosj)ital
staff and j)articipates in his own
jirogram of drug and diet ther
apy. >To i)atieiit who must have
medication aroiuul-the-clock is
eligible for the unit. Nursing
rounds are made twice daily so
that patients can be advised and
counseled.
A patient is admitted to the
unit through the Private Diag
nostic Clinic after his doctor has
signed a form certifying him as
a self-care ])atient.
Although new to Duke, the
self-care unit idea is not new.
Other hosi)itals in North Caro
lina having similar services in
clude the (’harlotte Memorial
Hospital in Charlotte and the
N. C. Baptist Hospital in Win
ston-Salem.
The new unit was i>roposed by
a committee that has been study
ing hostel facilities in general for
over a year. It is hojied that
the unit will ])rovide the medical
center with information and ex
perience that may prove helpful
in the future. For, although
not yet on the drawing board,
future plans for the hos])ital in
clude the building of a ])ro[)osed
hostel to be located not far from
the existing Private Diagnostic
Clinic facilities.
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
ilcdical School Dean
Gets New Assistant
s. Douglas Smith, a June,
1966, graduate of Duke Univer
sity’s Graduate Program in Hos
pital Administration, has been
api)ointed assistant to the dean
of Duke University School of
Medicine.
He succeeds Richard A.
Bindewald, who has been ap
pointed to the newly created j)ost
of director of personnel for the
entire university.
Mr. Smith, 28, will assist Dean
W. G. Aidyan in business ad
ministrative jnatters pertaining
to the School of Medicine.
A native of Odessa, Texas,
Smith graduated with a B.S.
degree in business administra
tion from Abilene Christian Col
lege in I960. He held two ap-
])ointments after that, one as an
assistant examiner at Federal
Reserve Bank, Dallas, Texas,
and the other as administrator
of a small hospital in Bridge-
])ort, Calif.