The Hospital Section of the 37th National Recreation Congress in Denver was a happy instructive period for many hospital recreation workers. Our only complaint was the beautiful Colorado scenery surrounding us, which sometimes made us wish the sessions weren’t so fascinating.

Dr. Morton Bard, psychologist at Memorial Center for Cancer and Allied Diseases, New York City, opened the meeting with a strong and inspiring talk on “The Role of Recreation in Relieving the Anxieties of Patients.” Dr. Bard stressed the importance of the personality of the worker in dealing with the patients in helping to allay the fears that the hospital imposes upon an individual.

In the afternoon, a singularly successful session, “Unusual Recreation Activities,” was chaired by Dorothy Taaffe, recreation consultant, American Red Cross, San Francisco. The entire group divided into six different sections--neuro-psychiatric, general medical and surgical, tuberculosis, geriatric, children’s and chronic hospitals. Each had a chairman and a reporter. Each chairman presented several different new program ideas to his group and encouraged others to do the same. At the end of thirty minutes, Mrs. Taaffe asked all of those wishing to participate in more than one group to change groups. At the end of an hour and a half, almost unwillingly, the entire group reassembled and the reporters of each gave a resume of the ideas presented. A wonderful rapport and exchange of ideas flowed in each division. This session could have gone on much longer as enthusiasm was so high. In the published 1955 Congress Proceedings, you will be able to read the many unusual ideas brought out.

The following afternoon, an interesting session on “What’s Your Problem,” was conducted by Clifford C. Bream, Jr., chief, Recreation Division, Special Services, Veterans Administration, Washington, D.C., and an eminent panel from hospitals of various types. The chairman and panel served as clinicians and endeavored to answer many pressing recreation problems brought up by the clinical group.

That evening, a preliminary report was given by Dr. Edith Ball of New York University, on the results of a study made by the National Recreation Association and New York University on the value of recreation for chronically ill and aged. This column in the next few months will report on these results. That same evening, the film, formerly titled So Much For So Little but now changed to Rx Recreation, was shown to a very enthusiastic audience.

Briefly, I’d like to call attention to:

1. A fine book with a great deal of recreation guidance for us all, Handbook of Hospital Psychiatry, by Dr. Louis Linn, published by International Universities Press, Inc. 227 West 13th Street, New York, New York,. $10.00.

2. An institute dealing with the problems of the aged, ill, and handicapped which is being sponsored by the National Recreation Association and New York University on January 18th, 19th and 20th. It will be held at Vanderbilt Hall, New York University, New York City.

3. Our movie, Rx Recreation, which had its first showing to the general public at Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases, New York City. We had three hundred hospital administrators, psychiatrists, doctors and directors of philanthropic, civic and fraternal groups at the premiere. The picture was extremely well received.

c: NRPA all rights reserved