Statement by the President Upon Appointing a National Advisory Commission on Health Facilities.
OUR HOSPITALS have been, and they remain, the core of the Nation's health care system. Thanks to the public-private partnership fostered by the Hill-Burton program virtually every American is within reach of a good hospital today.
Under the Hill-Burton partnership we have accomplished much:
--More than 3,500 communities have built hospitals, nursing homes, public health centers, and rehabilitation facilities with Federal help;
--Nearly 400,000 beds have been provided in hospitals and nursing homes;
--1,283 health centers and 421 rehabilitation facilities have been established.
It is time to build upon that progress. But in building, we must do more than expand and continue existing programs. We must reshape them to fit the changing needs of today and tomorrow.
The demand for health care is expanding sharply in our land. There are more Americans to care for, every day. Medical miracles have raised the expectations of all Americans. Many economic barriers to health care have been lowered through such programs as Medicare and Medicaid.
We cannot look at hospital facilities alone. They must be examined in relation to community and regional health needs and resources. The whole structure of health care delivery must be considered as we design the buildings and facilities of tomorrow. This task requires planning for the long and the short range. It requires imagination, energy, and broad cooperation. It is a difficult and complex job.
For these reasons I am today appointing a National Advisory Commission on Health Facilities to undertake a thorough study and to make recommendations.
The Commission will be under the chairmanship of Mr. Boisfeuillet Jones of Atlanta. Mr. Jones, president of the Emily and Ernest Woodruff Foundation, has long brought his skills to the field of health, as a consultant to the Congress and the executive branch, as a university vice president, and as the former Special Assistant for Health and Medical Affairs in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
The Commission will submit its report to me in approximately 1 year. It will make interim reports and recommendations as appropriate.
Note: The President's statement was made public as part of a White House release which noted that areas to be explored by the Commission would include financing, economics, and planning of hospitals and health facilities.
The release listed the members of the Commission, under the chairmanship of Mr. Jones, as follows: Dr. Samuel L. Andelman, commissioner of health, Chicago Board of Health; Dr. James Z. Appel, Lancaster, Pa., past president, American Medical Association; Mrs. Angle E. Bailif, Provo, Utah, director, Utah Division of Public Health and Welfare; George E. Cartmill, Jr., director, Harper Hospital, Detroit, Mich., past president, American Hospital Association; Dr. Leonides G. Cigarroa, Laredo, Texas; Charles E. DeAngelis, Mountainside, N.J., vice president, Walter Kidde Constructors, Inc., New York City; Dr. James L. Dennis, vice president for medical affairs and dean, School of Medicine, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City; Conrad M. Fowler, probate judge and chairman, Shelby County Board of Revenue, Columbiana, Ala.; William L. Guy, Governor of North Dakota; Very Reverend Harrold A. Murray, director, Bureau of Health and Hospitals, United States Catholic Conference, Washington, D.C.; Howard N. Nemerovski, attorney, San Francisco, Calif.; Dr. David E. Rosengard, medical director, Rosengard Clinic, South Boston, Mass.; David Sullivan, general president, Building Service Employees International Union, New York City; and Mrs. Fay O. Wilson, professor and chairman, Nursing Department, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, Calif.
In his statement the President referred to the Hospital Survey and Construction Act of 1946 (Hill-Burton Act).
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President Upon Appointing a National Advisory Commission on Health Facilities. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/237473