Hospital Director Says Medical Plan On Time

An official of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital denied last night that the "Harvard Medical School Complex" is either showing a serious lack of progress or lagging behind schedule.

A story in Sunday's Boston Globe said that the $50 million Medical School Complex "is bogged down in a mire of conflicting ideas and interests." But Dr. F. Lloyd Mussells, Director of the Hospital, claimed that "the problems were exaggerated in the article and will not be difficult to solve."

According to present plans, six outstanding Boston hospitals, all affiliated "teaching hospitals" of the Harvard Medical School, will be amalgamated in a series of connected buildings in the Longwood Avenue area.

All administrative, medical, and patient service facilities will be shared by the six hospitals, thus reducing costs and creating one of the greatest unified medical centers in the world.

Peter Bent To Expand

The Peter Bent threw suspicion on the progress of the project when it announced late last wok that it is going ahead with plans of its own for a $1.5 million expansion program. The Hospital's new wing, to be completed by next fall, will include 39 private patients' rooms and advanced X-ray equipment.

Mussells stressed that the Peter Pent project is only a "temporary move while the Complex is being completed" and will "in no way delay or otherwise affect" the long-range plans.

"Peter Bent Brigham is very much committed to amalgamation," Mussells declared, "and is very proud of its association with the Harvard Medical School."

The hospital's own expansion is being undertaken, he explained, "only to meet an immediate need," and the new wing has been planned so that it can be included in the Harvard Complex.

Mussells noted that amalgamation plans are "still very much in the talking stage," and that "no definite plans have yet been completed." But that the proj-yet been completed." But the project is still expected to be completed, he added, within the projected five to ten year date.

Countway Library

The Peter Bent's expansion will not affect the construction of the Harvard Medical School's new Countway Library of Medicine, which is to be erected on the site of the Peter Bent's present nursing school. Harvard expects to start building the library sometime next year.