University of Virginia Library

Hospital Vault

Mr. Smith told The Times-Dispatch that
"I've been talking about improvements for
some time, and we got some but not enough."
Mr. Smith said that he had requested a walk-in
vault where the drugs could be stored, but the
hospital administration, "didn't think it was
important or they thought it would cost too
much." Miss Reeves said that a written request
for a walk-in vault was never submitted.

J. B. Carson, secretary of the State Board of
Pharmacy, wrote a letter to Miss Jacqueline
Young, the present pharmacist at the hospital,
in which he recommended a number of changes
in the operation of the pharmacy. First, he said
a vault must be provided for the storage of all
narcotics, amphetamines and barbiturates. An
alarm system must also be installed to protect
all areas where drugs may be stored. These
changes must be completed within 120 days,
according to the recommendation.

Miss Reeves of the hospital said that action
has already been taken to prevent any further
loss of drugs. The parts for a new vault have
been ordered and the vault will be installed
soon. Pharmacists are now on duty 24 hours a
day. Until a few months ago, however, the
pharmacists only worked a limited number of
hours per day. Mr. Smith stated that if all the
Board's recommendations were carried out, he
"didn't think that it would happen again."