The cover story of the June 12, 1978, issue of TIME magazine characterized the US. Department of Health, Education and Welfare as The Beneficent Monster. The physicians and lawyers of this nation often find themselves acting as sometime keepers and trainers of The Monster in many of its activities. While numbers of monstrous proportions may not intimidate the current generations who have witnessed the coining of the words googol (the number 1 followed by 100 zeros) or googolplex (10 raised to the 100th power), most of us are impressed when we discover that millions are affected and billions of dollars spent annually by the Social Security Administration.

That we will come into contact with The Monster is quite likely: As individuals we may become members of the beneficiary population; as practicing professionals, we may be involved in pursuing for another what may appear to be a tortuous process to guide that person to benefit status under the Social Security Administration Disability Programs.

Much has been written and discussed this past year about the responsibility and obligation of hospitals to actively support and comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. which was designed to ensure that federally assisted programs and activities would be operated without discrimination on the basis of handicap. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) last year published comprehensive regulations implementing this controversial section of the law. Since almost all hospitals and health care institutions receive some form of Medicare, Medicaid or Hill-Burton Funds, this regulation is of special significance to the administrators of facilities who must now make both their physical plant and programs accessible to individuals suffering from a broad range of disabilities.

In as much as a significant portion of the regulations relate to the development of plans to identify physical obstacles limiting accessibility and time schedules for making required modifications to buildings, many hospital officials equate Section 504 solely with the needs of individuals confined to wheelchairs or utilizing other such devices to assist in mobility