ah.thefinaldiagnosis-第13部分

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rs。　Straughan；　the　chief　dietitian；　hovered　over　this　area　periodically；　knowing　that　even　minor　shortings　in　hygiene　or　service　could　bring　testy　plaints　at　some　future　meeting　of　the　hospital's　medical　board。
　With　few　exceptions　the　senior　attending　physicians　used　the　reserved　tables。　House　staff；　however；　were　less　consistent；　residents　and　interns　sometimes　asserting　their　independence　by　joining　the　nurses　or　other　groups。　There　was　nothing　unusual；　therefore；　in　Mike　Seddons　dropping　into　a　chair　opposite　Vivian　Loburton　who；　released　from　an　assignment　earlier　than　some　of　her　fellow　student　nurses；　was　eating　lunch　alone。
　Since　they　had　met　ten　days　ago　in　the　autopsy　room；　Vivian　had　encountered　Mike　Seddons　several　times　in　the　hospital　and　on　each　occasion…seeing　his　thatch　of　red　hair　and　wall…to…wall　grin…she　had　increasingly　e　to　like　the　look　of　him。　Intuitively　she　had　expected　that　soon　he　might　make　a　direct　approach　to　her；　and　now　here　it　was。
　〃Hi！〃　Seddons　said。
　〃Hullo。〃　The　greeting　came　out　awkwardly；　Vivian　having　just　bitten；　with　healthy　appetite；　into　a　chicken　leg。　She　pointed　to　her　mouth　and　mumbled；　〃Excuse　me。〃
　〃That's　perfectly　all　right；〃　Seddons　said。　〃Take　your　time。　I'm　here　to　proposition　you。〃
　She　finished　the　mouthful　of　chicken；　then　said；　〃I　thought　that　was　supposed　to　e　later。〃
　Mike　Seddons　grinned。　〃Haven't　you　heard？…this　is　the　jet　age。　No　time　for　formal　frills。　Here's　my　proposition：　theater　the　day　after　tomorrow；　preceded　by　dinner　at　the　Cuban　Grill。〃
　Vivian　asked　curiously；　〃Can　you　afford　it？〃　Among　house　staff　and　student　nurses　poverty　was　a　time…honored；　rueful　joke。
　Seddons　lowered　his　voice　to　a　stage　whisper。　〃Don't　tell　a　soul；　but　I'm　on　to　a　side　line。　Those　patients　we　get　in　autopsy。　A　lot　of　'em　have　gold　fillings　in　their　teeth。　It's　a　very　simple　matter　。　。　。〃
　〃Oh；　shut　up；　you'll　ruin　my　lunch。〃　She　bit　the　chicken　leg　again；　and　Seddons　reached　over　for　two　of　her　trench　fries。
　He　savored　them。　〃Um；　not　bad。　I　must　eat　more　often。　Now　here's　the　story。〃　He　produced　two　tickets　from　his　pocket　and　a　printed　voucher。　〃Take　a　look　at　this…pliments　of　a　grateful　patient。〃　The　tickets　were　for　the　road　show　of　a　Broadway　musical。　The　voucher　covered　dinner　for　two　at　the　Cuban　Grill。
　〃What　did　you　do？〃　Vivian　was　frankly　curious。　〃Heart　surgery？〃
　〃No。　Last　week　I　filled　in　for　half　an　hour　for　Frank　Worth　in　emergency。　A　guy　had　a　bad　gash　on　his　hand　and　I　stitched　it。　Next　thing　I　knew；　these　were　in　the　mail。〃　He　chuckled。　〃Worth　is　furious；　of　course。　Says　he'll　never　leave　his　post　again。　Well；　will　you　e？〃
　〃I'd　love　to；〃　Vivian　said；　and　meant　it。
　〃Great！　I'll　pick　you　up　at　the　nurses'　residence　at　seven　o'clock。　Okay？〃　As　he　spoke　Mike　Seddons　found　himself　regarding　this　girl　with　even　greater　interest。　He　was　suddenly　aware　that　she　had　a　good　deal　more　than　a　pretty　face　and　a　good　figure。　When　she　looked　at　him　and　smiled　it　conveyed　the　feeling　of　something　warm　and　fragrant。　He　thought：　I　wish　we　were　meeting　today　instead　of　the　day　after　tomorrow；　it's　a　long　time　to　wait。　Then　a　faint　warning　voice　inside　him　cautioned：　Beware　entanglements！　Remember　the　Seddons　policy：　love　'em　and　leave　'em…happy　with　their　memories；　parting　is　such　sweet　sorrow　but；　oh；　so　very　practical　for　staying　unattached。
　〃Okay；〃　Vivian　said。　〃I　might　be　a　little　late　but　not　much。〃
　
　A　week　and　a　half　had　passed　since　Harry　Tomaselli　had　told　O'Donnell　that　construction　of　the　hospital's　extension　was　planned　to　begin　in　the　spring。　Now；　in　the　administrator's　office；　he；　Kent　O'Donnell；　and　Orden　Brown；　the　board　chairman；　were　meeting　to　discuss　immediate　things　to　be　done。
　Months　before；　with　an　architect　at　their　elbows；　the　three　had　worked　over　the　detailed　plans　for　each　section　which　would　have　its　home　in　the　new　wing。　The　wishes　of　heads　of　medical　departments　had　had　to　be　balanced　against　the　money　likely　to　be　available。　Orden　Brown　had　been　the　arbiter　with　O'Donnell　as　medical　liaison。　As　always；　the　chairman　had　been　crisp　and　incisive；　but　with　a　humor　that　seasoned　his　basic　toughness。　Sometimes　they　had　gone　along　entirely　with　what　was　asked；　at　other　times；　when　they　suspected　empire　building　for　its　own　sake；　the　inquiries　had　been　more　searching。
　One　section　head；　the　chief　pharmacist；　had　pressed　hard　to　have　a　private　toilet　included　in　his　own　office　design。　When　the　architect　had　pointed　out　that　more　general　facilities　were　available　a　mere　forty　feet　down　the　corridor；　the　pharmacist　had　gone　so　far　as　to　observe　that　forty　feet　was　a　long　way　when　he　was　suffering　one　of　his　periodic　attacks　of　diarrhea。　Orden　Brown　had　dryly　referred　him　to　the　department　of　internal　medicine。
　A　few　worth…while　projects　had　had　to　be　vetoed　solely　on　the　grounds　of　cost。　Ding　Dong　Bell；　the　senior　radiologist；　had　made　out　a　convincing　case　for　creation　of　a　cine…radiography　unit…its　purpose　to　improve　diagnosis　and　treatment　of　heart　disease。　But　on　learning　that　the　equipment　alone　would　cost　fifty　thousand　dollars　the　plan　had　regretfully　been　ruled　out。
　But　now；　with　the　main　planning　pleted；　the　focus　of　attention　was　on　the　practical　matter　of　getting　the　money。　Strictly　speaking；　this　was　the　responsibility　of　the　board　of　directors；　but　the　medical　staff　was　expected　to　help。
　Orden　Brown　said；　〃We're　suggesting　some　quotas　for　the　doctors…six　thousand　dollars　for　senior　attending　physicians；　four　thousand　for　associates；　two　thousand　for　assistants。〃
　O'Donnell　whistled　softly。　He　told　the　chairman；　〃I'm　afraid　there'll　be　some　plaining。〃
　Brown　smiled。　〃We　must　do　our　best　to　endure　it。〃
　Harry　Tomaselli　put　in；　〃The　money　can　be　spread　over　four　years；　Kent。　As　long　as　we　have　written　pledges　we　can　use　them　to　borrow　from　the　bank。〃
　〃There's　another　thing；〃　Brown　said。　〃When　word　gets　around　town　that　this　is　what　the　doctors　themselves　are　giving；　it　will　help　our　general　fund　raising　a　good　deal。〃
　〃And　you'll　see　that　word　does　get　around？〃
　Brown　smiled。　〃Naturally。〃
　O'Donnell　reflected　that　it　would　be　his　job　to　break　the　news　at　a　medical　staff　meeting。　He　could　visualize　the　pained　expressions　he　would　face。　Most　medical　men　he　knew；　like　the　majority　of　people　nowadays；　lived　right　up　to　their　ines。　Of　course；　there　would　be　no　pulsion　about　the　quotas；　but　it　would　be　hard　for　an　individual　to　take　a　stand　against　them；　especially　since　the　medical　staff　had　a　lot　to　gain　from　the　hospital's　growth。　A　good　many　certainly　would　give　the　full　amount　asked　and；　human　nature　being　what　it　was；　they　would　bring　pressure　on　others　to　suffer　equally。　A　hospital　was　a　breeding　ground　for　politics；　and　there　were　many　ways　in　which　a　nonconformist　could　have　life　made　difficult　for　him。
　Harry　Tomaselli；　intuitive　as　usual；　said；　〃Don't　worry；　Kent。　I'll　brief　you　thoroughly　before　the　staff　meeting。　We'll　have　all　the　selling　points　lined　up。　In　fact；　when　you're　through　some　people　may　even　want　to　exceed　quota。〃
　〃Don't　count　on　it。〃　O'Donnell　smiled。　〃You're　about　to　touch　a　number　of　doctors　on　their　tenderest　nerve…the　pocketbook。〃
　Tomaselli　grinned　back。　He　knew　that　when　the　chief　of　surgery　made　his　appeal　to　the　staff　it　would　be　as　incisive　and　thorough　as　everything　else　O'Donnell　did。　He　reflected；　not　for　the　first　time；　how　good　it　was　to　work　with　someone　of　O'Donnell's　character。　In　Tomaselli's　last　hospital；　where　he　had　been　assistant　administrator；　the　president　of　the　medical　board　had　been　a　man　who　courted　popularity　and　trimmed　his　sails　to　every　wind　of　opinion。　As　a　result　there　had　been　no　real　leadership　and　hospital　standards　had　suffered　accordingly。
　Harry　Tomaselli　admired　forthrightness　and　swift　decisions；　mostly　because　those　were　methods　he　used　himself　as　administrator　of　Three　Counties。　With　swift　decisions　you　sometimes　made　mistakes；　but　on　the　whole　you　got　a　lot　more　done；　and　your　average　of　hits　unproved　as　time　went　on。　Quickness…of　speech　and　thought；　as　well　as　action…was　something　Harry　Tomaselli　had　learned　in　courtrooms　long　before　he　ever　thought　of　finding　his　destiny　behind　a　hospital　desk。
　He　had　entered　law　school　from　college　and　bad　begun　to　lay　the　foundations　of　a　good　practice　when　war　intervened。　Anticipating　the　draft；　he　had　enlisted　in　the　U。S。　Navy　where　he　had　received　a　mission　and　a　job　in　medical　administration。　Later；　as　the　navy　hospitals　filled　with　wounded；　Lieutenant　Tomaselli　had　proven　himself　an　able　administrator　with　an　instinct　for　sensing　the　invisible　border　line　between　the　practice　of　medicine　and　the　business　of　hospital　management。
　After　the　war；　faced　with　the　choice　of　returning　to　law　or　remaining　in　hospital　work；　he　had　chosen　the　latter　and　enrolled　in　the　School　of　Hospital　Administration　at　Columbia　University。　He　had　graduated　from　Columbia　at　a　time　when　there　was　growing　recognition　of　hospital　administration　as　a　specialized　field　of　endeavor　in　which　a　medical　degree　was　neither　necessary　nor　particularly　useful。　This　had　opened　up　a　brisk　demand　for　good　administrators；　and　after　two　years　as　an　assistant　he　had　accepted　Orden　Brown's　offer　of　the　top　post　at　Three　Counties。
　Now　Harry　Tomaselli　was　in　love　with　his　work。　He　shared　Kent　O'Donnell's　views　about　the　standards　of　good　medicine　and　respected　the　business　acumen　and　caginess　of　the　board　chairman；　Orden　Brown。　As　administrator；　it　was　Tomaselli's　business　to　see　that　all　hospital　services…nursing；　housekeeping；　engineering；　building；　accounting；　and　their　subsidiaries…measured　up　to　the　standards　the　other　two　men　required。
　He　did　this　by　delegation…he　had　a　happy　faculty　of　appointing　good　department　heads…and　also　by　an　intense　personal　interest　in　everything　that　went　on　within　the　hospital。　Almost　nothing　of　importance　escaped　Harry　Tomaselli。　Each　day　his　short；　stocky　figure　could　be　seen　bustling　along　the　corridors　but　pausing　frequently　while　he　talked　with　nurses；　patients；　janitors；　clerks；　cooks…anyone　who　could　tell　him　something　about　the　hospital　or　make　a　suggestion　on　how　to　run　it　better。　New　ideas　excited　him；　his　own　enthusiasm　engendered　more　in　others。　Sometimes；　head　thrust