LEGISLATIVE CHANGES IN SALARY RANGES Mr. HARE. I note that you have a request for $11,935 for changes in salary ranges. Is that due to some legislative enactment providing an increase of low-salaried employees? Miss JACKSON. That comes about because of Public Law 694, increasing the salary ranges of employees, mostly in the CPC grades. ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES REQUESTED Mr. HARE. I note on page 17, you are asking for several additional employees; one credit manager, at $2,600; two assistant clerk-stenographers at $1,620 each; a clerk-stenographer at $1,440; one matériel officer at $2,600; an assistant clerk-stenographer at $1,620, and a telephone operator at $1,260; a total of seven new position, Doctor. Dr. LAWLAH. Yes, sir. Mr. HARE. That is quite a decided increase, is it not? Dr. LAWLAH. No; when we consider the responsibilities that we have for collections and property care. The estimates show that we expect to collect $100,000 from pay receipts for next year. Mr. HARE. How many additional employees will you need to collect $100,000? Dr. LAWLAH. We will need these positions under the collections. group; that is, a credit manager and three clerks. Mr. HARE. You think it will take four people to collect $100,000 in pay receipts? Dr. LAWLAH. I think so. We have managed to get the increases that we have had in receipts by virtue of utilizing almost everybody in the office to follow through on collections. Mr. HARE. I can understand that in the adoption of this plan for payment by patients, you would need additional help to secure the payments and arrange for payments, but the question in my mind is whether you would require the services of four people to do that, or not. Mr. THOMAS. Do you keep them on a round-the-clock shift of duty; or do you have two shifts, or what is the situation? Dr. LAWLAH. Our plan was this. This credit manager, as such, would devise ways and means of operating the service efficiently and productively, and he would supervise the work procedures and submit the necessary reports that would be required to the proper authorities and be actually responsible for the functioning of the unit as a whole in the hospital. In addition to the manager, the assistant, or one of the $1,620 positions, would be responsible for properly placing all charges against patients, issuing of official receipts, making of schedules, depositing of funds, the filing of the debit tickets, and the billing of delinquent accounts and the following through of those delinquent accounts; of gathering sufficient information to guide the credit manager, and to serve in his stead during his absence on account of illness or vacation, and also would be responsible for the filing of liens and the liquidation of all compensation coming out of insurance claims and the like. Mr. HARE. In view of that statement, I think you may be able to answer the question propounded by Mr. Thomas. We desire to know whether or not all these people would be available at the same time, or whether or not two of them would be at work 8 to 10 hours a day and the other two another 8 or 10 hours the same day. Dr. LAWLAH. This would provide for about 16 hours of coverage during the day. Mr. HARE. Then you would have two shifts? Dr. LAWLAH. We would have two shifts; and the admitting office, on the midnight shift, could make any collections from patients coming or leaving, and turn them over the first thing in the morning to the collection office. SOURCE OF FUNDS FOR PAY OF TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES Mr. KEEFE. Mr. Chairman, as I understand this justification on page 17, they are carrying temporary employees who are doing this work at the present time. You are carrying temporary employees in your appropriation, are you not? Dr. LAWLAH. Yes, sir. Mr. KEEFE. So the additional amount requested is only $865? That is what is shown on page 17. Mr. HARE. I am assuming, Mr. Keefe, that $12,980 will be included in the deficiency appropriation that they are requesting. Dr. LAWLAH. You mean in the current deficiency appropriation? Mr. HARE. Yes. Dr. LAWLAH. No. Mr. KEEFE. You are paying those temporary employees out of current funds, are you not? Dr. LAWLAH. That is right. Mr. KEEFE. You are proposing to make these positions permanent instead of utilizing temporary employees? Dr. LAWLAH. That is right. Mr. KEEFE. If you do, you will be expending $865 more than you are expending out of current appropirations for what you term "temporary employees"; that is correct, is it not? Dr. LAWLAH. That is right. Mr. THOMAS. What authority do you have to expend those funds under the heading of "Temporary employees?" Mr. HARE. I presume, Doctor, that if you collect this $100,000 that you hope to collect, and you do not increase your expenditures for administrative purposes or salaries or otherwise, you will then be able to reduce your estimate to the Government by that amount. But here I assume you are taking a part of your income from your patients and paying these temporary employees with it; is that correct? Dr. LAWLAH. No; that is not correct. Mr. HARE. Where do you get the money with which to pay them? Miss JACKSON. From the money resulting from unfilled positions. That is used to meet personnel needs elsewhere in the service. Mr. KEEFE. That cannot be right, either. Mr. ANDERSON of New Mexico. You have some 10 percent leeway; do you not? Mr. THOMAS. No; this all comes out of lapses. The Dr. LAWLAH. It comes out of the salary appropriation. amount that we collect from pay patients we do not use to pay salaries. Mr. THOMAS. This all comes out of lapses. Mr. MILLER, Mr. Chairman, page 85 of the committee print shows that for the current fiscal year they have $27,161 for temporaries, and the estimate for 1944 is $14,282. So they had a large amount of money in this current fiscal year for temporaries, and it will be that much less for the next year. Mr. THOMAS. Under what classification do those temporaries come; clerical, custodial, or what? Miss JACKSON. Some of them are clerical and others are in the custodial group. Mr. KEEFE. The record should be made clear, I think, that at least in accordance with the statement appearing on page 85 of the committee print, this item for temporary employees does not arise out of delay in filling positions, or lapses, because that is deducted from their appropriation. But it is listed here as temporary employees, departmental, and you have reduced the amount for your temporary employees from $27,000 to $14,000-by just the amount that appears here for these permanent positions. Mr. THOMAS. What service do these temporary employees perform? Is their work intermittent or what? I do not see any reason why we should have given you $27,000 for temporary employees. What do they do? Miss JACKSON. They are not temporary employees, as such. The positions were created by reason of lapses. Mr. THOMAS. You are sure there is no such item as $27,000 for temporary employees? Miss JACKSON. That is true. Mr. THOMAS. It was all created through lapses? Miss JACKSON. Yes, sir. Mr. HARE. Then the actual increase for salaries, relative at least to these new positions, is only $865, as I understand? Dr. LAWLAH. That is, in terms of the current moneys we have for the positions in the hospital. Mr. THOMAS. Do you have any funds in the 1944 bill for temporary employees? Mr. KEEFE. Surely. There is $14,282. Mr. THOMAS. Will someone give us an answer to that for the record, please? Miss JACKSON. The number of positions shown in the 1943 and 1944 columns was the result of a reduction because of vacancies-13which actually occurred in 1942, and 9 of which in 1943 had been provided for by the appropriations. Because of this and other vacancies temporary or additional positions were filled to meet personnel demands elsewhere. Mr. THOMAS. Is this $490,000 all for personnel? Miss JACKSON. All for personnel. Mr. THOMAS. For personal services, administrative, there is $490,000. Of that sum you have broken down and set aside how much for temporary employees? Miss JACKSON. We have shown $14,282. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. THOMAS. I am not clear as to this item. I do not know how you anticipate that during the year 1944 you are going to have a certain amount for temporary employees based upon lapses. That is bound to be purely a guess, is it not? If you need the whole amount of funds requested, there certainly ought not to be that much money for lapses, for the simple reason that if you should need the services of a particular employee, you would need him on the job immediately. So I do not see the occasion for accumulating that much money. Mr. KEEFE. Here is the thing that puzzles me: I am in the same quandary that you are. In the committee print on page 85, which Mr. Miller indicates is a duplication of the green sheets, you show lapses, or delay in filling new positions-I suppose that is lapses-in 1943 of $3,091. That is deducted. In the 1944 appropriation you show $6,639. That is deducted, leaving your net permanent departmental appropriation $555,358 for 1944. Then you add to that temporary employees, departmental, $14,282, making your estimate for all personal services, departmental, $569,640. Then you deduct the subsistence, and finally get down to your requested appropriation. Now, if this bill goes through in this form, you not only will have created these additional positions, amounting to $12,760, but you will still have available $14,282 for temporary positions in addition. Am I right in that, or am I wrong? UNEXPENDED BALANCE OF APPROPRIATION Mr. THOMAS. What is your unexpended balance as of the first of this month, based upon your present number of employees? The difference between that and the total appropriation ought to be the lapsed money, ought it not? Mr. MILLER. Except for one thing, and that is the overtime money that has been paid out up to now and that which may have to be paid from now on. Miss JACKSON. I can give you that. A small part of it is estimated to April 30 of this year. Mr. THOMAS. Give us whatever information you have available. Can you figure what your unexpended balance will be at the end of this fiscal year for personal services? Miss JACKSON. At the end of this fiscal year, without regard to overtime? Mг. THOMAS. You ought not to have any overtime. That should be taken care of through a supplemental or deficiency, should it not? Miss JACKSON. Without regard to overtime, the unobligated balance is estimated at $16,335. Mr. THOMAS. That is to the end of the fiscal year? Miss JACKSON. Yes, sir. Mr. THOMAS. Are you including in that balance now this $11,935? Is that a part of it? Miss JACKSON. No; that is included in the obligation. Mr. THOMAS. So what you should have, then, is about $27,000 plus? Miss JACKSON. Yes, sir. Dr. LAWLAH. That is the figure that is given in the 1943 estimates, approximately. Mr. THOMAS. That is approximately correct—$27,600 ? Miss JACKSON. Yes, sir. Mr. THOMAS. Could you not break down your budget in some way so that you could tell how many positions you are going to need? And, of course, in the meantime the question of overtime pay arises. That is a matter that should be taken care of in the deficiency rather than to try to anticipate it. Does that arise by virtue of unfilled. jobs that we have appropriated for, or is it just a little surplus? Miss JACKSON. I is unfilled jobs. Mr. THOMAS. Well, if you can get along without them now, why could you not continue to get along without them? Miss JACKSON. Because although there have been some very long delays in filling positions, if those positions are not ultimately filled we will not be able to give anything like adequate care to patients or to accomplish other programs. Mr. THOMAS. Of course I can understand that you cannot anticipate these lapses when people want to jump up and quit. VACANCIES Dr. LAWLAH. I would like to point out, too, that with so many vacancies created the institution suffers tremendously in not being able to do many of the things that we ought to be doing. Mr. THOMAS. Is it in professional services, nurses, or the custodial force, or where are these lapses? Dr. LAWLAH. They are all the way down the line. Mr. ANDERSON of New Mexico. Can you give us a table on that; all vacancies in each category? Dr. LAWLAH. Yes, sir. (The statement requested is as follows:) Vacancies as of May 6, 1943: 1 director of administration__ 1 associate medical officer_ 1 roentgenologist 1 pathologist---- 3 head nurses__ 9 general duty nurses.. 4 attendants___ 1 medical technician....... 1 occupational therapist. Annual rate $6,200 3,200 3,200 2,600 1,800 1,620 1,330 1,800 1,440 1, 320-1, 380 1,200-1, 280 1, 200-1, 280 1,200-1, 280 21 additional employees reduces this number to 24, 13 of which may not be filled because of the reduction program. 1.200 1,320 1,500 1,680 1,200 1,440 1,620 Mr. HARE. Let me see if I can clarify this, Doctor. I notice here that you had 447.2 employees last year; is that correct? Dr. LAWLAH. Yes, sir; that is right. Mr. HARE. And you are asking this year for 458 employees? |