TRENDS
REGIONAL PLANNING IN DISTRICT III
Editors: JOHN P. HUBBARD, M.D..
ATTENTION has frequently been called to the two most prominent needs revealed by the Academy's Study. The first calls for a better distribution of pediatric services; the second calls for more attention in undergraduate and graduate training to the health supervision of normal children and the practical aspects of pediatric practice. To meet this two-fold need, the Academy has emphasized the importance of regional planning, or decentralization, if this latter term is preferred. In order to serve as a testing ground, a program has been instituted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, District III of the Academy. One aspect of this program has been provision for a resident to spend a three month period serving two community hospitals which are located reasonably close together. The Montgomery Hospital at Norristown and the Phoenixville Hospital in the town of the same name were selected for this purpose. These two hospitals are both about 25 miles from Philadelphia and about eight miles from each other. A pediatric resident, Dr. Ronald M. Bernardin, who had already completed his residency training for Board Certification, was given the first appointment in this part of the program. The following two letters, one from Norristown and the other from Phoenixville, are an indication of the program's value from the point of view of two communities:
