Pentagon Health Plan

STANFORD, Calif--Stanford University Hospital's board of directors decided recently against participating in a controversial Pentagon plan that would make 50,000 civilian hospital beds available in the event of a limited nuclear or conventional war.

According to the plan, called the Civilian Military Contingency Hospital System, a minimum of 50 beds must be set aside by each participating hospital.

The board declined to contract for a specified number of beds, stating that the university would attempt to provide whatever beds it could without violating its commitment to local and broader communities, the Stanford Daily reported recently.

Several Stanford hospital administrators have contended that the lack of such "an agreement could trigger a military takeover of the hospital during a crisis, according to the Daily. So far, 366 civilian hospitals across the country have committed a total of 30,932 beds under the contingency plan.

Harvard-affiliated Brighamand Women's and Beth Israel hospitals have agreed to participate in the plan.