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Record Printing Company
P O Box 70. Warrenton, N. C 27589
BIGNALL JONES HOWARD F JONES KAY HORNER
Editor Business Manager News Editor
Member North Carolina Press Association
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Closing Is Regretted
Warren General Hospital,
erected at Warrenton in 1949-50,
will be closed as a general
hospital on January 1.
This was announced in a lead
story in The Warren Record this
morning (Wednesday). The
story was written by Kay Horner,
news editor, and explains
the reasons for closing the
hospital and possible plans to
maintain a type of emergency
service in the county.
Little hope has been held that
the hospital could be maintained
in the manner that it has
existed since its construction
and staffing, and yet notice of its
closing comes as a shock.
All over the state and nation
not only small rural hospitals
are closing, but many hospitals
in larger communities, due to increased
health care costs, an
inability to compensate for
reductions in federal Medicare
and Medicaid, and steadily
declining patient census.
The county commissioners
and hospital board members had
hoped to be able to delay a
decision on the hospital's future
pending completion of a state
study due in February, but
mounting debts prompted action
this week.
Recently, we received a clipping
from The Wall Street Journal,
courtesy of Hugh Holt,
headed "Communities Fight
Closing of Hospitals." In the
clipping a number of small
hospitals over the nation were
mentioned, including Warren
General Hospital. Remarks pertaining
to Warren General were
as follows:
"Declining admissions are
especially evident in the 45% of
all acute-care hospitals with
fewer than 100 beds, many in
rural communities. A recent
University of North Carolina
study shows that smaller rural
hospitals in the Tarheel State
have been losing patients to
bigger institutions since the
early 1970s. Glenn Wilson, head
of social and administrative
medicine at the university, who
directed the study, says, 'As far
as anyone can tell, they were
going where the high technology
is.'
"With an estimated 25 to 30 of
North Carolina's 132 acute-care
hospitals in deep financial
trouble, pressures on local
government to keep them afloat
are growing. 'It's not politically
popular to be known as the per
son who closed a hospital,' says
Eva Clayton, head of the Warren
County commissioners.
Overcoming Reservations
Warren General Hospital is
the only acute-care institution
serving the poor and predominantly
black county. On some
days, only seven out of its 35 beds
are occupied. Mrs. Clayton and
other commissioners want to
convert Warren General to a
nursing home and a clinic affiliated
with bigger hospitals
nearby. But overcoming the
reservations of the hospital staff
and the public may be difficult,
she says.
"Some nursing home operators
are also unhappy about such
conversions, despite the projected
national need for more nursing
home beds."
While deeply regretting the
closing of the hospital, and
hoping that other health care can
be provided, we feel that both the
county commissioners and the
members of the Board of
Hospital Trustees are due the
thanks of our citizens for the
diligent way they have worked in
the interest of health care in the
county.
Miss Rodwell Retiring
On Friday afternoon of last
week Miss Mary Frances Rodwell
of Warrenton retired as
Deputy Register of Deeds of
Warren County after having held
this position for slightly more
than 40 years. That she will be
greatly missed is perhaps the
greatest understatement of the
year. - ^
Miss Rodwell, the daughter of
the late Mr. and Mrs. Raymond
Rodwell, a graduate of Duke
University and Henderson
Business College was employed
as his chief deputy by the late
Sam Allen upon his election as
Register of Deeds in the early
forties. She served in this
capacity with Mr. Allen until his
retirement in July 1965, when
she came Deputy Register of
Deeds under Jim Hundley. For
nineteen years she was his
deputy, continuing to discharge
her duties with a skill and
patience that won the admiration
of those who visited that office.
"She is one of a kind, and they
don't make them like her anymore,"
Jim Hundley commented
on Tuesday. Illustrating her
patience and ability to get along
with people, he said that he and
his deputy never exchanged a
cross word during the long
period they worked together. She
always looked on the bright side,
liked people and possessed a
great deal of patience.
The qualifications were also
pointed out by one who has
known her since she was a child,
and who used the word marvelous
in her description.
The editor was a frequent
visitor in the office of the
Register of Deeds when he too
often unburdened his disappointments
to his friend. She never
lost her patience, and always
looked on the bright side. She
will be greatly missed.
Not Painful
By JEAN McCAMY
In The Wake Weekly
We do some strange things to ourselves
in the name of fashion. Some
fashions make people look marvelous
and some fashions make
people look — well, peculiar.
When you have a chance to sit and
watch a rather extensive crosssection
of people go by, you see a little
bit of everything, from sloppy to
funky to chic.
Some people apparently don't give
a flip for fashion. They just get
dressed in whatever is handy.
Others, however, seem to have carefully
studied a picture in the latest
slick magazine and decked themselves
out accordingly, with no
regard to how the style looks on than
or how appropriate it is for where
they are going.
Following fashion trends is cer(Continued
on page I)
Mostly Personal
Shot Of Adversity
By BIGN ALL JONES
In this column last
week I mentioned that
Lee Iacocca contracted
rheumatic fever and
had to spend six months
in bed and that it may
have been a blessing in
disguise. Lee tells about
it as follows:
"Suddenly in the middle
of my senior year,
Japan attacked Pearl
Harbor. President
Roosevelt's speeches
had us all riled up, and
the entire country was
rallying round the flag.
Overnight all of
America was galvanized
and united. I learned
something from that
crisis that has stayed
with me ever since; it
often takes a shot of adversity
to get people to
pull together.
"Like most young
men that December
1941, I couldn't wait to
join up. Ironically, the
illness that almost killed
me may have ended up
saving my life. To my
enormous disappointment,
I was classified
4F—a medical deferment—which
meant I
couldn't join the Air
Force and fight in the
war. Although I had
pretty well recovered
and I felt terrific, the
Army had decided not to
take anyone with a
history of Rheumatic
fever. But I didn't feel
sick, and a year or two
later, when I had my
first physical for life insurance,
the doctor
turned to me and said
'You are a healthy
young fellow. Why
aren't you overseas? "
"Most of my classmates
were called up,
and many of them died.
We were the class of '42,
and the kids who were
seventeen and eighteen
went to boot camp and
then straight across the
Atlantic where the
Germans were knocking
hell out of us. To this day
I sometimes look
through my yearbook
and shake my head in
sorrow and disbelief at
all the students from
Allentown High who
died overseas, defending
democracy.
"Being burdened with
a medical deferment
during the war seemed
like a disgrace, and I
began to think of myself
as a second-class
citizen. Most of my
friends and relatives
had gone over to fight
the Germans. I felt like
the only young man in
America who wasn't in
combat. Soldid the only
thing I could. I buried
my head in my books."
Lee said that by this
time he had developed
an interest in engineering,
and the
following year he entered
Lehigh University in
Bethlehem, Pa., where
any student who didn't
maintain a sufficiently
high average by the end
of his sophomore year
was politely asked to
leave. Lee had classes
six days a week, including
a course in statistics
that met Saturday
morning at eight. Most
of the buys cut it, but he
got an A—in statistics,
not so much for proficiency
but for his perseverance
in showing up
every week while the
other guys were sleeping
off their Friday
night binges.
Lee added, "I don't
mean to imply that I had
no fun at all daring
college, I like to raise a
little hell, and I went to
my share of beer parties.
There were also
trips to Philadelphia
and New York where I
had a couple of girlfriends."
In spite of an excellent
record as a high school
student, Lee found
college more challenging.
He said that "in my
freshman year I almost
failed physics. We had a
professor named
Bergmann, a Viennese
immigrant whose accent
was so thick I hardly
understood him. He
was a great scholar, but
he lacked the patience to
teach freshmen. Unfortunately,
his course
was a requirement for
anyone who majored in
mechanical engineering.
"Somehow, in spite of
my difficulties in his
class, I got to be a good
friend with Professor
Bergmann. We would
walk around the campus,
and he would describe
the latest developments
in physics.
He was especially interested
in splitting
atoms, which at that
point seemed still in the
realm of science fiction.
It all sounded like Greek
to me and I only understood
a fraction of what
he was saying, although
I managed to follow
the main argument.
"There was something
mysterious about
Bergmann. Every Friday
he'd end the class
abruptly and leave the
campus until the following
Monday. It wasn't
until several years later
that I finally learned his
secret. Given the nature
of his interest, I should
probably have guessed.
He used to spend every
weekend in New York
working on the Manhattan
Project. In other
words, when Bergmann
was teaching at Lehigh,
he was working on the
atomic bomb. "Despite
our friendship and
despite the private
tutorals, I managed no
more than a D in fresh
man physics—my
lowest grade at Lehigh.
I had been a good math
student at high school,
but I simply wasn't prepared
for the world of
advanced calculus and
differential equations.
"Eventually I smarted
up," Lee said, "and
switched my major
from mechanical to industrial
engineering.
Before long my grades
started to improve. By
my senior year I had
moved away from the
advanced sciences of
hydraulics and switched
over to business
courses, such as labor
problems, statistics and
accounting. I did much
better in the subjects,
finishing my last year
with straight A's. My
goal was a 3.5 grade
average so I could
graduate with high
honors. I made it by a
hair—ending up 3.53.
They say that this
generation is competitive.
You should
have seen us at work."
After completing his
studies at Lehigh, Lee
accepted a scholarship
to Princeton University.
Lee said "After one
look at the campus I
knew that I wanted to be
there. I figured that a
masters degree after
my name wouldn't hurt
my career either.
"Suddenly I had two
terrific opportunities.
(Princeton scholarship
and job with Ford) I
called McCormickGoodheart
(Ford executive)
about my dilemma.
'If they want you at
Princeton' he told me,
'bu all means go and get
your masters. We'll hold
a space for you until you
graduate.' That was just
what I hoped he would
say, and I was on top of
the world." v
To Be Continued.
News Of Yesteryear
Looking Back Into
The Warren Record
December!, 1944
The Warren County Board of Commissioners had
a double session on Monday with the old board serving
at the morning session and the new board being
sworn in for the afternoon session, when W. H.
Burroughs was re-elected chairman.
W. Carlton Wilson, formerly with Neal's Service
Station, has leased the Sinclair Service Station on
Main Street and began operation of the new
business on Tuesday.
Margaret Shaw, young pianist of Macon, will be
featured as guest soloist with the N. C. State Symphony
Orchestra in a concert at the University of
North Carolina, Saturday, Dec. 9.
December 4,1959
Directors of the Roanoke River Basin Association
in a recent meeting at John H. Kerr Reservoir put
their stamp of approval on construction of a power
dam at Gaston on the Roanoke River by the Virginia
Electric and Power Company, and expressed the
hope that any obstacles in the way of construction
may soon be removed.
The Rev. and Mrs. Malcolm M. Hutton of Norlina
announce the birth of a daughter in Warren General
Hospital on Nov. 25. Mrs. Hutton is the former Miss
Ann Davis of Norlina.
Bill Henry Burwell was a holiday guest of the
Barker Williams family and Mrs. Made Sloan at
their summer home near Greenville, S. C.
December 5, 1174
Judge Hamilton Hobgood of Louisburg administered
the oath of office to Mrs. Anne P. Davis, newly
elected clerk of Warren County Superior Court,
during ceremonies held here on Monday. Mrs.
Davis succeeds R. S. Rodwell as clerk.
Revaluation and a complete mapping of Warren
County would cost more than 1200,000, it was
revealed at a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners
Monday morning.
Min Catherine Blankenship of St Mary's College
was here for the holidays. She was guest organist in
Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Sunday morning.
Letter To The Editor
Sad Day For Warren
To The Editor:
December 3, 1964, will be remembered by the
County Commissioners, the Hospital Trustee Board
and the citizens as a sad day for Warren County.
This day, a difficult decision had to be made and
supported to change drastically how Warren
General Hospital would operate. The Trustee Board
and the County Commissioners knew a change had
to be made in August and took action to plan an
alternative to the Hospital. We all had confidence
and pride in what Warren General Hospital had
meant to the citizens of the County and wanted to
continue to provide health care through that facility
but not as a hospital. It was apparent that small
hospitals, under 100 patients, were in serious
trouble and had to change to survive.
Given the information and knowledge in August,
we thought Warren General Hospital could continue
to operate for one year, while the new health care
program was being designed and established. The
State had indicated the time required was twelve to
eighteen months. Warren General's situation was
far more critical than the Board of Trustees knew.
They considered many other options to reduce expenses
before they presented the Commissioners
with the three final options on Monday. The three
options were the result of much discussions and soul
searching on their part.
What does this change mean?
1) There will be an interim program for six to nine
months with limited services through the emergency
room when private doctors offices are closed.
The Ambulance Service will be coordinated through
the Hospital.
2) There will be a new expanded care program,
providing outpatient care with joint speciality
clinics with the Health Department and other health
providers. Twenty-four hour urgent care will be
provided as needed. The quality of health care will
be greatly improved; with a wide range of health
services serving more citizens at less cost.
3) In both interim and the new expanded health
care program, inpatient hospital care will be discontinued.
4) Arrangements will be made with surrounding
hospitals to ensure easy access for inpatient care
and major medical needs.
The Hospital Trustees and County Commissioners
will attempt to clarify and to explain to the citizens
and others the details of the change as soon as they
are determined.
EVA CLAYTON
Chairperson, Warren County Commissioners
Closing Authorized
(Continued from page 1)
call system at night" for primary care and minor
trauma.
"Other cases would be sent to a more sophisticated
medical center," Bernstein said.
His office in late 1983 was called in to assist the
Warren General Hospital Task Force, composed of
commissioners, hospital officials, and local
citizens, in determining what could be done to transform
the hospital into a viable health care entity.
After their report last July which indicated that
Warren General's days as a full-service hospital
were limited, Bernstein's staff was enlisted to conduct
a study of alternative modes of health care,
such as a geriatric and chronic illness center, outpatient
ambulatory service, and joint specialty
clinics with county health agencies.
Rural Health's services to the county, which have
included providing a hospital administrator during
the time of its study, have been free of charge.
Local officials have expressed hope that the
General Assembly will assist Warren County in implementing
an alternative mode of health care.
State Rep. Frank Ballance has told the commissioners
that the Legislature might be interested in funding
a Warren County project because of its nature
as a model for other county hospitals in similar
situations.
About 50 concerned citizens were present at Monday's
meeting, and seven spoke before the board.
Most expressed concern that the county would be
left without emergency room service if the hospital
were closed.
Brenda M. Clarke of Warrenton told the board
that her family had utilized the services of the
emergency room on several occasions "when we
could not have gotten to Maria Parham Hospital (in
Henderson)."
Ms. Clarke, who sometimes serves as photographer
for the Highway Patrol and the Ambulance
Service, also expressed concern for accident victims.
"There have been people who wouldn't have
made it without Warren General Hospital," she
said.
However, a hospital employee, Ms. Candace
Miller, expressed support for change.
"Warren General did a great job in its time," she
commented. "But if there's any way to make it better,
I'm for it all the way."
Dianne Smith, administrator of Warren Nursing
Center, lamented the possibility that the hospital
might close, but also endorsed the urgent care unit
as a "good, viable option."
Dr. R. C. Reinoso, a Charlotte health care finance
professional who serves as advisor to the Department
of Rural Health, commended the citizenry for
their interest in the hospital.
"You're facing exactly the situation other small
community hospitals are facing," Dr. Reinoso said.
"It will take your continued interest to get into
something else. The trap is to continue with what'i
always been done regardless of the finances."