An increase in the number of patients in the dispensaries of the city and a decrease in the amount of revenue from patients were noted in a study on the effect of unemployment on medical care agencies, made public yesterday by Dudley D. Sicher, president of the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies.
Mr. Sicher stated that according to the report, the number of patients who received treatment at Federation dispensaries during the first eight months of 1930 was 78,075, while the number of patients for the same period in 1929 was 67,433. This represents an increase of 15 percent for the present year.
The figures, Mr. Sicher pointed out, represent the work done by the five leading medical care agencies of the federation, including Beth Israel Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, Lebanon Hospital, Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Montefiore Hospital for Chronic Diseases.
“While the number of patients at our dispensaries increased by 15 per cent during this period, the revenue received from patients decreased by 6½ per cent. This shows that the same conditions which make for an increase in the demands for service, also make for a decrease in the number of people who are able to pay for the service rendered,” Mr. Sicher said.
Commenting on the report, Ira Haupt, chairman of the executive committee of the federation campaign for $2,221,000, said: “These figures are further proof that this is no time to be thinking of making reductions in our appropriations for philanthropic work.”
It was announced at the federation office that of the $2,221,000 to be raised in the present campaign, $756,000 has ben allotted to medical care agencies.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
