Ford Press Releases, January - April 1966: 12130682

VtETNAM MEDICAL
P~ge Two
Dr. Swanson charges that the Administration has talked
for years about giving South Vietnam medical aid but hasn't
done anything about it.
Ford said he will raise his voice again and again until
the Administration acts. He said he hopes to have Dr.Swanson
testify before the congressional committees concerned so they
can learn what he has seen in Vietnam,
Of Administration officials, Dr. Swanson said:
"Their charts indicate they're doing a lot (about
Vietnam's medical problems) but I've been there three times
in four years, and there just haven't been any improvements."
He added:
"In a country that's burning and bleeding to death, it's
fantastic we aren 1 t doing more to save the lives of the civi-
lian population. It's just plain wrong,"
Dr. Swanson said there are many dedicated people providing
medical aid in Vietnam but not enough of them.
At the same time, the lack of hospital bed space and
other facilities is staggering, Dr. Swanson added.
Dr. Swanson estimated the need for new hospitals at 40 to
50 spotted throughout Vietnam.
He quoted the Vietnamese Army's surgeon general as saying
they would cost $300,000 to $500,000 apiece and should be de-
signed to include a civilian wing and an army wins with a
common laboratory-surgical unit in the center.
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