FIRST WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON HEALTH

ON November third and fourth of 1965 some 850 persons gathered in Washington, D.C., for the first White House Conference on Health. Here are some impressions which might interest and concern pediatricians. Pediatricians and other practitioners from all parts of the country attended, with medical educators, representatives of the broadest possible array of medical personnel, and lay persons. Representation of governmental agencies ranged from the Mayor of Unalakleet, Alaska, population 574, to the Secretary of State. To observe the dialogue between medicine and government, perhaps 100 or more persons from governmental agencies attended as observers. Pediatrics was well represented, although it was not always easy to spot pediatricians—they attended among many roles as medical school deans, family planners, and public servants at all levels, from "Bill" Stewart, the Surgeon General, and Harry Towsley, retiring Academy president, on down. A versatile lot.