Med Services Unaffected By Hospital Rating Loss

Boston City Hospital's (BCH) loss of accreditation will not affect the services or medical student training programs which Harvard operates at the hospital.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, a national medical rating organization, stripped BCH of its accreditation Wednesday for the first time in the hospital's 106-year history. BCH officials immediately asked the commission to inspect the hospital again in June.

"The chiefs of all the Harvard services are anxious to work in every possible way to correct the deficiencies cited by the accreditation commission," Dr. Robert H. Ebert, dean of Harvard Medical School, said yesterday.

Harvard operates four medical services at BCH - one each in medicine, surgery, neurology, and neurosurgery - which altogether provide care for up to 300 patients. These services are staffed by 150 faculty members, and 100 interns and residents from the Harvard Medical School. Each year 250 Harvard Medical students receive their clinical training by working in the services.

Harvard also runs three research laboratories at the hospital. The loss of accreditation will cause no change in their operation cither, Ebert said.

Dr. Andrew P. Sackcu, the city's health and hospitals commissioner, said he was "shocked" and called the accreditation removal "a harsh and unjustified action."

The commission charged the hospital with 52 separate deficiencies-including sloppy housekeeping, failure to maintain sprinkling systems, neglect of fire and disaster planning, failure to recruit enough registered nurses and dieticians, inadequate record systems, and operating in antiquated facilities.

Excellent Care

Ebert stressed that loss of accreditation "will in no way affect the excellent care made available to all who are treated at the hospital."

"The commission does not even comment on the quality of professional care or the educational training programs," Dr. William V. McDermott, Cheever Professor of Surgery and chief medical officer at BCH, said yesterday. He added that the commission was set up by hospitals only to insure quality in the hospital's housekeeping, administration, and physical plant.

Ebert said that loss of accreditation "certainly should not discourage medical school graduates from coming to BCH as interns."

McDermott said the hospital plans a 100-day crash program to correct the deficiencies pointed out by the commission and regain accreditation. Although he said he was confident that the hospital could correct most deficiencies before June, "until we have a totally new physical plant, you can go through this hospital and see all kinds of problems."

Full Support

"The Harvard people at BCH will fully support whatever Dr. Sackett and his staff think should be done," Ebert said.

McDermott helped organize a staff protest two years ago over the hospital's"antiquated physical plant, archaic administrative structure, and inadequate budget." He said the commission ignored the great progress which followed his protest: $6 million was spent on renovation, plans were made for a whole new city hospital, and the budget was almost doubled. Sackett said the increased funds paid for improvements which "have resulted in an almost total reversal of the previously bleak conditions."

Besides a loss of public confidence, lack of accreditation could lead to loss of federal grants for programs and construction, withholding of Medicare and Medicaid subsidies, and possible withdrawal of private health insurance participation for policy holders using the hospital.

The announcement of the commission's action came on the same day that the hospital's trustees revealed plans for an entirely new $171 million city hospital to be completed by 1976.