The Washington times., 1904-07-24
Society Sends These Messengers of Good
Cheer Into the Lowly Homes of the
Suffering and Distressed
of Washington.
OF Washington.

a feast and then a famine, she carries
wash clothes. soap. towels, and the
| simplest Of drugs, as we'll as alcohol for
rubbing her patients.
The Baby Nurse.
The Baby Nurse" as Miss Selling is
| called, has more than her hands full,
and in addition 10 her sixty patients the
/ first of the week, each day brought
! dozens of new cases. until she has
/ heightened her hours and is worked far
/ beyond her strength. She is successful
with babies, and they love her Her
! department is rather the most interest
] ing Of all. and through the charity OF
the more fortunate in life she is well
equipped for her work.
| The Christ Child Society provides her
with the cunningest little taby ward
robes. composed Of six slips. six skirts.
! diapers night gowns, and other neces-
| sary garments for the babies who are
due TO arrive in the world and to re-
main in the same condition in which
they present themselves but for the
work OF these thoughtful women.
These little wardrobes are actually
given the baby 10 keep. but the supplies
from the nurses closet. which belongs
TO the society. are always loaned.
When the free nurses first started out.
F, they found that their work lay among
/ the poorest, most neglected and often
/ degraded negroes and white people. and
/ that their patients lay upon beds of un-
clean rags. Then there were other cases
where there We're some supplies Of
household linens but not enough TO meet
the demand when sickness came This
same trouble occurred with the sleening
clothes Of the patients.
The Nurses Office.
/ AS a result the offices Of the visiting
InUrse-generally a table and closet in
the office of a district agent of the AS
! ISOLATED Charities-are fully equipped
with all necessary supplies for the
nurses travelling" bag or medicine
chest. which she carries with her on her
round Of visits. There is a closet CON
! tanning such things as simple restora-
tives. bandages, vaseline, antiseptics.
cotton. qUlnine. and laxatives.
! The larger supply closet contains
/ sheets, pillow cases, blankets, pads.
heavy bandages, water-bags. ice-bags.
and sleeping garments. all of which are
/ freely given 70 patients with the stipu-
lation that they are not 10 dispose Of
them, and are 10 return the clothes to
/ them nicely Numbered when the pa
/ tient for whom they We're intended has
| recovered.
! Many cases present themselves where
a family has a means Of support but
not adequate for paying a nurse to re-
main in the house. From those who
| can affbrd IT, small fee is collected,
which, all told, last year amounted to
S2L20, not a source Of revenue for the
! society, TO be sure, but sufficient 10
make some family feel independent IN
paying Is or 20 cents for the visit of q
nurse or in buying their own medicine
One Day With the Nurse.
The nurse leads a hurried existence.
and passes swiftly from one case Of
distress To another for eight hours Of
| the day, often, when necessary, working
long hours overtime to relieve some ur-
/ gent case.
A nurses schedule for the day with
the thermometer resting at 81 degrees.
reads like this: Arrived at office at $50
a. N. After attending to the wants Of
! those in waiting, and she never fails
70 ind some one there who wishes a
| wound dressed or to consult her on q
case, or 70 secure some promised sup
! ply. such as sputum cup. needed BY Il
tubercular patient; or bandages, vase
line. OF some other small necessity
promised at the visit of the day be
fore, she equips her satcheI with all
necessities. and starts out
Her first call was upon a family where
J there were two patients child Of
| twenty-five months with cntero cOIitig.
| whom she found feverish and restless.
and to whom she gave n bath and irri-
cation as ordered by the visiting physi-
/ clan. She also directed the mother how
| TO prepare barley water and other nOur-
! ishment for the child. The other pa
tient. an older sister with acute ar
ticular rheumatism, had TO be sponged.
her bed changed. arm and leg wrapped
ia cotton. and various articles loaned
from the nurses supplies.
By the time this family was made
comfortable and the mother given new
! courage 20 nurse her sick ana attend
10 her family, it was time for the
nurse 10 report at Police Headquarters
/ again. She only found one new case.
though at this season nurses not infrc-
quently get as many as a dozen new
| ores in a day.
She next called upon a little boy
some blocks away who had typhoid
| fever. The mother was willing. helpful
and intelligent, and while she needed
the nurse TO give her assurance, carried
out all the instructions implicitly. The
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