Page 8 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1981 National Sick baby survives red tape United Press International AUGUSTA, Ga. — A 2-pound baby born three months prema turely had a chance to live Tues day thanks to a hospital staff that carried a 24-hour battle against in difference, red tape and mecha nical breakdowns all the way to the White House. “It’s amazing the baby even made it, it’s beyond belief,” said Becky Burke, who led the battle to get Stephanie Marie McElrath the treatment she had to have. Alex Vaughn, a spokesman for Talmadge Memorial Hospital, said Stephanie was still in critical condition but “there’s a little bit of optimism. ’’ Stephanie was born Saturday night in Southeastern Medical Center, a small Miami hospital, to Carleen and Gary McElrath — who hasn’t had his medical insur ance long enough to be eligible for a maternity benefit. Burke, public relations director at Southeastern, said the hospital did not have the facilities to care for the critically ill infant, who she said had to have “level three” care — “the most advanced, most sophisticated care.” Nine hospitals in Florida with such facilities rejected Stephanie. One in Miami turned her down when they learned her parents had no insurance, Burke said. Others said they had no room. Still others, she said, gave no coherent reason. The staff began calling out-of- state hospitals with level three neonatal care. It was Sunday after noon when they put in a call to Talmadge Memorial Hospital in Augusta. “They were super. They didn’t S N S S N N s S > N * N ELECTRIC COWBOY WEDNESDAY NIGHT 500 Frozen Margaritas and 500 Draw Beer ALL Night. No Cover Charge for Ladies THURSDAY NIGHT $1.00 Frozen Margaritas all night. Ladies — come in before 11 p.m. and get two free drinks. No cover charge for Ladies Next to Skaggs 303 University Square s !> N N S N ask any questions, none of the financial questions we had been hearing. They said they had a bed and would hold it for us, and they would send an ambulance out to Bush Field at Fort Gordon to meet us.” “At that point,” Burke said, “all we had to do is find a way to trans port the infant. That’s when the problems really started.” A commercial air ambulance wanted $3,000 to transport the child, she said, and the McElraths didn’t have that much money. For the next several hours the hospital itself put “about 60 calls” through to Homestead Air Force Base in south Florida, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois — the Air Force emergency center — the Pentagon, the White House, the homes of all Florida congressmen and senators, and the governor’s mansion. Homestead Air Force Base said they would send a plane to Opa- Locka airport in North Miami to pick up the baby. At 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Burke said, she, three doctors from the hospital and Stephanie in an incubator were waiting at the airport. But the plane didn’t come. The Air Force said the mission was scrubbed because its policy was to refuse such flights when commer cial service was available. At that point, Burke said she rounded up several maintenance workers at Opa-Locka and they began “calling everywhere. Every place we called thought it was a prank call. At the White House they put us on hold.” “Finally the Pentagon called back. A Col. Seltzer and a Maj. Fronzack called. They were abso lutely wonderful. They said, ‘We’ve heard what trouble you’re having. We called Homestead and told them to get that plane in the air.” The plane took off with the doc tors and Stephanie at about 7p. m. Fifteen minutes after the plane took off, Burke said, the respirator providing oxygen to the baby went dead. For the next two hours, the doctors took turns squeezing a hand pump to get oxygen in. Shortly after the C-130 took off for Augusta, a man who identified himself as President Reagan called the airport and an airport worker who took the call said the man “just wanted to make sure the plane was there and the baby was going to be all right.” The White House could not confirm whether the president himself or an aide made the call. BIG SALE ON TIDDIES! Lowest priced Tiddies in the world! 2 Layers — 13.95 3 Layers — 15.95 We also carry a complete line of car stereos BEST SELECTION IN TOWN Disco Lite - Water Beds - Nighttimes - Incense - Pipes 2919 Texas Ave. 779-0065 10 a.m.-7 p.m. rzt HOW DOES $90,000 A YEAR GRAB YOUR ASSETS? Accountant $29,744/yr* Attorney $56,964/yr* Chemist $48,961/yr* Engineer $45,221/yr* LUBY’S MANAGER $90,000/yr Seem hard to believe? The average Luby's Cafeterias, Inc. manager did earn over $90,000 last year. The average training period to become a manager is 6 to 8 years. Managers attain these earnings by collecting a share of the net profits from their own cafeteria. The average associate manager last year earned $50,000. This earning level is attainable in 3 to 5 years. To become a manager of one of our cafeterias is a very special business oppor tunity. You'll be joining an ambitious and progressive company that requires more of its managers than any food chain in the Sunbelt. Local managers are decision making businessmen who are responsible for all purchasing, menu planning, and hiring of personnel. We grant our managers a great deal of autonomy, and treat them as business partners. Luby's Cafeterias, Inc. is a firm believer in promoting from within; hence, most Corporate Officers are former unit managers. Luby's Cafeterias, Inc. is not restricting interviews to only Business majors; we're open to all degrees. We're looking for people who are interested in becoming dynamic, aggressive, and well paid business people. If that's your goal, then we're looking for you! ’Average salaries; highest level of experience, difficulty, and responsibility, from the National Survey of Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical Pay, March 1979 — U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bulletin 2045. INTERVIEWING AT YOUR PLACEMENT CENTER JUNE 30 AND JULY 1. lalibyis LUBY’S CAFETERIAS, INC., P.O. BOX 33069, CENTURY BLDG., SUITE 200E, 84 N.E. LOOP 410, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78286 LubgMs is a Registered Trademark of Luby’s Cafeterias, Inc. Researchers’ effort transfer plant gene>ih United Press International WASHINGTON — In a pioneering effort that may lay the groundwork for agriculture in the next century, researchers have developed a gene tic engineering technique for transferring genes from one plant species to another. In announcing the development Monday, Agriculture Secretary John Block said it opened “a whole new era in plant genetics.” In the past, sterility barriers between kinds of plants prevented creation of variations that will be possible now with gene splicing. No one is expecting overnight results. John Kemp, an Agriculture Department biochemist who worked on the project, said it was "laying the groundwork for 21st century agriculture.” Block, who is pushing for more federal spend ing on agricultural research, said he does not agree with people who say the United States has reached its crop production potential and that greater yields will be harder to achieve in the future. Instead, Block said, the new breakthrough “is the first step toward the day when scientists will be able to increase the nutritive value of plants, to make plants resistant to disease and environmen tal stresses and to make them capable of fixing nitrogen from the air." Researchers led by Kemp and Timothy Hall of the University of Wisconsin at Madison transi! red agenefromo French bean seed toasui cell and called the new tissue “sunbean. The gene, which directs production of protein, is stable in its new location andsciei are looking forward next to production of levels of bean protein in the “sunbean.” In a complicated process, the gene was into a bacterium, called agrobacterium t ciens, which transmits crown gall diseaseinvt plant species. Hie normal infection mechar was used to transfer the bean protein gene to sunflower plant tissue. The next step, for which technology isnrt t . availahle, will be to regenerate a sunflower^