Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-03

teaching rather than any supervisory or
inspective force: and in the execution OF
the necessary orders of the physicians
the utmost care Is taken to avoid fric-
tion with and to respect the wishes OF,
as far as possible, parents and family
physicians. The function of the nursing
division is essentially preventive; and so
efficiently Is it's work being done, partly
by means of an innocent but very prac-
tical detective system, that the division
has discovered the existence in the school
community of five times more m
cable diseases than the inspectors Of the
Board OF Health had reported In twelve
years. This remarkable record implies no
reflection upon the health department, for
its inspectors cannot avail themselves Of
the peculiar facilities of the school au-
thorities for obtaining information.
In it's recommendation for the treat
ment of disease or deformity found in
school children, the department leans
strongly toward conservation. Operations
are avoided in every possible instance. 1t
is the belief Of the physicians that in many
cases the children will outgrow their all
ments, and in others, where operations
might be advised were the immediate cure
OF the disease the only consideration, the
child should be let alone IL the disease,
like adenoids, is found not to be causing
deafness, or to interfere with the breath
ing. Nyhere specific directions are given
by the physician, the nurses prove very
useful in making certain that these are
carried out. In the dental clinics Of Boston,
which have been thrown open to the pupils
of the public schools, not fewer than 500
children are in process Of treatment.
Some idea of the scope and usefulness
Of the inspective work of the new nursing
division may be gathered from the fol-
owing report of the first twenty nurses
appointed under the Department of School
Hygiene for the period from September IL,
1907, to February /. 1903: Diseases Of ear,
1892 cases cared for; eye, 6,07S cases cared
for, including 3,649 suffering from delec-
tive vision, of which 1,131 were corrected by
o%culists; nose 1902 cases, Of which LAOS had
adenoids, 423 of whom had the obstruction
removed; mouth, 1,765 cases, including 1,6Sj
who had carious teeth; throat, 1885 cases,
including $50 of hypertrophied tonsils and
COS of tonsilitis; skin, 1919 cases, all OF
which were followed to their homes and
the parent or guardian instructed how to
care for them These figures do not in
clude the specific infectious diseases; and
It may be added that $3.50 excluded pupils
were taken to their homes, 1928 to family
| ply sicians and 3,2O2 were returned to school
cured with a minimum OF absenteeism
More than $500 home visits were made for
the purpose Of interesting parents or con-
sulting them; and 4,772 children were taken
to hospitals on request of the parents
These astonishing results were reached ir
the infancy Of the department, and when
only twenty, instead of the present thirty,
four nurses were employed. In no one
year since 1894 had the inspectors Of the
Beard Of Health reported more than Z
cases of diphtheria among school children
or 81 cases OF scarlet fever; in less thar
five months following September II, 1913
the nursing division discovered 1872 and ~
cases, respectively. There can be no es
timatiug the number of lives saved, tn,
amount of suffering and expense avoided
for pupils and parents under the new
system. - 90