Hospital and Medical Facilities Survey and Construction Program

Abstract

• There is an imperative need for leadership by the medical profession in programing all categories of health facilities at the community level. Funds have been authorized for hospitals and related health facilities, for nursing homes, for diagnostic and treatment centers, for ambulatory patients, and for rehabilitation facilities by virtue of the Hospital Survey and Construction (Hill-Burton) Program instituted in 1946 and the Medical Facilities Survey and Construction Amendments of 1954. The total annual authorization of this program is 210 million dollars. The actual annual appropriations have averaged about one-half of the authorization. The total estimated cost of the 2,905 projects approved (May, 1956) amounted to 2.284 billion dollars. The federal contribution is 740 million and is matched by sponsor's funds amounting to 1.544 billion dollars. The current estimated bed deficit in the United States and territories, as reflected by the official Hill-Burton state plans, is 850,000 beds. Developments under this program have been substantial but slow. The public health physician and the private practitioner form the team to which the citizens look for guidance in these matters.