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The Best for Priscilla
When our sixth child was born a few months ago, we
were distressed to hear that she might have a problem with her hips. Visions of
a baby in braces raced through our minds. Trying to be the strong husband, I
said to my wife, "Don't worry, we'll get the best for Priscilla."
Our pediatrician advised us to have ultrasound testing to see if Priscilla's
legs were joining properly with the hip sockets. He sent us to a hospital
especially for children-the Alfred I. duPont Institute in Wilmington, Delaware.
I didn't know it at the time, but I was in for a lesson in economics that I'll
never forget.
The hospital is on the former estate of American inventor, businessman, and
philanthropist Alfred duPont, whose money founded the Institute. A remarkable
man from a remarkable family, he inherited a substantial fortune and built it
into an even larger sum. Like most DuPont's, he worked his way up from the
bottom, learning the family business in the powder mills along the Brandywine
River. In his later years, he decided to move south and spent his time
rebuilding Florida's economy after the boom and bust real estate deals of the
1920s. His holdings eventually included forests, banks, railroads, and real
estate. His rule: invest only for long term growth. In fact, duPont didn't
expect to reap rewards from his investments during his lifetime.
When he died in 1935, he left an estate of some $70 million. Nearly half-$30
million-was consumed in state and Federal inheritance taxes. After leaving a
few million to his wife and children, the remainder endowed the Nemours
Foundation, which was charged with opening a hospital devoted to children. For
nearly 60 years, the foundation has been benefiting children, operating with
funds earned from profitable investments in America's free enterprise system.
The hospital, which has never turned a child away, represents the best in free
enterprise and philanthropy.
DuPont's grounds and mansion are beautiful, but it was the hospital that
astonished me. It is a cross between Disney World and a high-tech research
center. The receptionist told us that it was especially designed to be
non-threatening to children. The interior of each wing is decorated in a
different color-bright red, green, yellow, or blue.
We carried little Priscilla past playroom after playroom and finally reached
the ultrasound room. With its soft lighting and colorful aquarium, the room was
far from institutional. On the wall were posters of Pinocchio, Snow White,
Bambi-cartoon creations from the studio of American artist-entrepreneur Walt
Disney. Suspended from the ceiling were more cartoon characters, originally
marketed to make a profit for their creators, but who have since delighted-and
sometimes comforted-a generation of Americans. Here, also, were doctors and
nurses who really cared. Little Priscilla was too young to be impressed by all
this, but it sure eased my mind!
The ultrasound imaging took only a few minutes. As we waited for the results
and the specialist's opinion, I picked up some literature and began reading
more about this wonderful hospital.
At duPont a pre-operative visit helps young surgical patients feel at home and
overcome their fears about the procedures they will undergo. They meet "Mr.
Teddy Bear," another patient (whose intravenous tube is connected to a bottle
of "Hospital 7-Up"), receive a "real" surgical mask, and may take a ride in the
red wagon that will transport them to the operating room. As a result, patients
are happier, calmer, and easier to help -and so are the parents, who take these
things harder than the children do.
On surgery day, the family remains together in a cheerfully decorated room. The
patient may play, read, or watch TV until with a favorite toy or blanket in
hand-he is taken to surgery. After surgery, the child is immediately reunited
with his parents. More important, the adults are often relieved to find that
every anesthesiologist is also certified in pediatrics.
Searching for Tomorrow's Cures
The Nemours Foundation is funding a number of
research projects that will benefit the next generation of children. The
Institute already is a leader in LIme disease detection and treatment.
Institute scientists also are searching for the causes of muscular dystrophy.
So far, researchers have discovered that the chemical compound hem in, when
injected into laboratory animals, dramatically increases muscle strength and
significantly reduces the invasion of connective tissue cells seen in the
disease. Human tests will follow.
The Institute also is adapting computer technology to assist disabled children.
Portable robotic arms are being developed that can be placed at a work station
or on the side of a wheelchair. These arms then will be programmed to perform
specific functions.
Computer devices also are being developed to aid children with speech and
hearing impairments. Projects include a telephone system for the deaf that uses
video sign language and a speech synthesizer that reflects the age and
personality of the user.
The Institute's ultimate goal is to "prolong and improve the lives of children
everywhere." But the Institute can't do that without the benefits of a free
society. A free society generates the wealth needed to fund continued treatment
and research, and provides the climate needed for innovation, dis covery, and
experimentation.
Today, Alfred duPont's Nemours Foundation continues to invest in profit-seeking
enterprises, with the proceeds supporting the hospital's programs. Interest,
profits, capital accumulation- things so disparaged by Marx and his
followersare what make the duPont Institute possible. Destroy the profit motive
and you throw the baby out with the bath water. Destroy the businesses in which
the Nemours Foundation invests and you destroy the Institute. The more business
is regulated, the fewer dividends are available to maintain and expand the
hospital.
After about a half hour, two doctors came in and gave us their analysis of the
ultrasound: Priscilla was okay. There would be no need for a cast, a brace, or
any treatment whatsoever. Her hip sockets were fine.
As we were leaving, I asked a hospital administrator if there were any
hospitals like this outside the Western world. "None," she said.
"Have you ever had visitors from Eastern Europe or the Soviet Union?" I asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact we had some visitors from Russia just a few weeks
ago. When they saw what we had here, they wept."
These visitors knew that they could never have such a hospital until their
country is free. No amount of central planning, Western subsidies, socialized
medicine, or national health insurance could create a duPont Institute. Only
the continuing vitality of a free society, where people can innovate, create,
invest, and serve others as they choose, makes such an institution possible.
There are many arguments for the free society, but none so compelling as the
health and welfare of our children. The best for our little Priscilla -- the
best for children everywhere -- is the fruit of freedom.
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