Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-11-29
A pL N
ACTING HEALTH PHYSICIAN DR..
L. j. BAKER WOULD ORGANIZE
COUNTY HEALTH OFFICERS.
Believes An Active Association Of
Health Officers Of County Could In
crease Efficiency of State Health
Laws and Prevent Spread of Disease

Under the direction of the
health physician of the city of
Ottumwa the Courier has estab-
lished sanitary column, which
Will be run at least once each
week upon regular date Arti-
cles prepared by Ottumwa physi-
clans, teachers, professional and
business men relating to sanitary
or health matters will appear in
the column without signature All
articles will be subjected to the
criticism of the health physician
and every effort will be made to
have the matter authoritative and
reliable.
The organization of a county asso-
citation composed of the local boards
of health within the county is a new
and practical plan for preventing the
spread of preventable and contagious
diseases and increasing the efficiency
of the state health laws and of the
work of the local health boards pre-
sented and advocated by Acting Health
Physician DR.. L. j. Baker.
Keynote of Plan.
The keynote of the plan suggested
is the prompt notification, given of
every case of communicable disease
within the county to every township
health officer who may then take the
necessary precautionary measures
against the introduction of the disease
into his district. Under the present in
complete organization of the health
department of the county, the health
officers of the city of Ottumwa, for
instance, have no means of learning
of dangerous diseases that may exist
in any of the rural districts Parties
exposed to the most malignant and
dangerous diseases, in these instances,
may come and go in the city of Of
tumwa, or any other part of the county
for that matter, without any restric-
ton and with no knowledge on the
part of the local officers of such ex-
posure
Thorough Information Possible.
With an active county organization
of the health officers of every town
ship it would be possible to keep every
portion of the county thoroughly in
formed as to the health condition of
every other part. The presence of dan
gerous disease could be promptly made
known and the proper and necessary
precautionary measures could be put
into effect.
Dr.. Bakers Interview.
Concerning his suggestion of the
county organization DR. . Baker has
given out the following carefully pre-
pared interview:
Systematic Organization Necessary.
Organization that is systematic and
practical is necessary to secure the
best results in any enterprise The
mission of boards Of health and health
officers is to arrest and prevent the
spread of preventable diseases, to edu.
cate the public in sanitary measures,
to collect and place on permanent rec
information as will aid the present flu.
ture improvement of the sanitary con
dition Of their Jurisdiction.
"This usefulness, valuable as it is,
we think might be greatly increased
especially in this state If the local
boards of health in each county would
organize county association Ar.
rangements could then be perfected
by which the health officer in each
township and town would be promptly
informed Of each new case of danger
Gus communicable disease and it's 10
cation. The local boards of health by
reason of their timely information
could then take such measures as
might be deemed best to prevent its
introduction into their jurisdiction.
/ Sickness and Death Decreased.
with such an organization prop
cry effected and working harmoniously
the usefulness of the local boards Of
health would be greatly increased anG
the sickness and deaths Throughout
our county would be CORRESPONDENCE
decreased Would it not be we'll fol
our local board of health in the neal
future to consider some plan whereof!
all portions of our county will be
brought into closer, quicker toucl
with each other SO that all health off
GERS will be quickly informed of thu
outbreak of any quarantinable disease
Owing to the lack of such information
we feel convinced that there are man.
more cases of such com municable dis
eases in our county than there woul'
less violations Of the regulations o
the board of health. 1t would have
good effect upon the thoughtless an,
those who have no respect for quaran
tine"
!, A Health Resolution.
| A resolution empowering the healtl
: officers of the city to prevent the al
tendance of children who have bee
exposed to infectious and contagiou
. diseases in the public schools unit
they have secured certificate of goo
health from the city health physical
d has been passed as follows by tn
y board of education of the Ottumwa II
dependent school district:
THAT when any cases of infection
or contagious diseases are detected i
the school rooms, those affected sha
: be kept out of school until certificat
of the physician of the board of healt
is shown that they are WE'LL
Rules for the Sick Room.
The following rules for the sic
room, especially for the room where