Med Students to Provide Services, Information in Roxbury, Dorchester

A group of students from Boston's three medical schools, the majority from Harvard, will provide information about medical services to Negro residents of Roxbury and Dorchester in order to detect and prevent disease in these areas.

An organizational meeting was held Tuesday under the direction of Henry Kahn '64 and William Bennett '62, freshmen at the medical school.

Many people in Roxbury, Kahn stressed, don't seek medical help until an emergency arises, such as a broken arm or leg. They see the nearby Boston City Hospital as inefficient and cold, and moreover, have little money to spend on medical care.

For these reasons, Kahn explained, many Negroes fail to take advantage of immunizations, special diagnostic tests, and other measures designed to prevent a sickness from occurring.

The student group will compile a list of all nearby clinics, he stated, containing their location, fees, attitudes to Negroes, and special services.

Medical students will then move into settlement houses and social work agencies. These students will refer to clinics Negroes who otherwise would not realize their need for attention.

Action on Contraceptives

The organization also plans to take action on legislative issues pertaining to medicine, such as Medicare or the Massachusetts law banning the sale or advertisement of contraceptives. Bennett stated that it is possible for a special interest group like this to introduce a bill in the general court, thereby pressuring the legislature.

Kahn said that the group will make available information about nursing schools, laboratory technician courses, and their associated loans and scholarships. In addition, the students may investigate reports of hospital discrimination against Negroes seeking jobs as nurses or orderlies.

Mrs. Ledonia Wright, a public health educator from the Laboratory of Community Psychiatry of Harvard Medical School will advise the group. The Medical Committee for Human Rights, a group of physicians formed to ensure medical care for Negroes and civil rights workers in the South, will back the student organization.