The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-14
BIRMINGHAM WILL PROBABLY SUFFER Health Department Badly Grip
 pied By Decision LETTER FROM PHYSICIAN Points Out That Milk Supervision Is Probably the Most Important of
 All Branches of Health
 Work.
LETTER FROM PHYSICIAN

iO iiiS ISultOA Ol ihG kAGC-A1SA oid'
 The recent decision of Judge A. A. Coleman in the recent suit of the Jeffer- son County Medical society and your ed- torial comment on the same subject, in- dicate to some of us of the medical pro- fession that there is not correct un- derstandng in the minds of some as to what should constitute properly equipped city health department, and as to what is comprehended in the scope of it's work and the responsibility which should rest upon it's chief, the city health officer.
 When Dr. Hardness was appointed city health officer he at once put himself in correspondence with a number of gen. tenen who were occupying this office in other cities known to have efficient health departments. His aim was to profit by the experience of others and build up useful health department for Birmingham as rapidly as he could learn what was best and persuade the city government to the importance of it and to get them to support the expense.
 He found that in most cities of our class this office consisted of a head or city health officer. and one assistant to do the bacteriological laboratory work. and others to act in the capacity of in- spectors.
 As a matter of economy the assistars. to do the lobartory work does not neces- sarily have to be a medical man. As contagious diseases concern the whole city it is right and proper that the city should stand the expense of the labor atory examinations necessary to their prompt discovery. These free examna- tions are of benefit to the people and the family physician, and it insures nearly all cases being reported to the health office for record and the houses con- taining such patients being Jagged for the protection of others.
 As the laboratory examinations are only aids to diagnosis there will be some doubtful cases which the head of the department must assume the responsibil- ity of deciding. In such a case it may be necessary for the health officer to visit the patient with the attending phy- sician to satisfy himself whether or not the case shall be Jagged as contagious one. A few months ago the writer's son
  had a mild attack of diphthera and Dr. Hardness visited the house a number of times before he was satisfied that our house should be Jagged.
 Such cases are rare and 1t has been found that employing a non-medical as- sistant is an economy that can well be practiced without injury to the efficiency of the department.
 Of course in cities where the work is heavy one or more medical assistants ! are employed and they can, when it is necessary, visit patients and relieve the chief to that extent. A non-medical as sistant, having no knowledge of bac- teriology in that more important branch that concerns the effect of germs in the human body. or In other words not being a physician, could not, of course visit patients, no matter how necessary 1t should be.
 To illustrate this there are large phar- maceutical houses that manufacture drugs and their extracts for the use of physicians. They cultivate such plants as aconite, belladonna and the like. For this work they employ expert gardeners
 
 plants. These gardeners, however, know nothing of the manufacture of these plants into drugs nor of their use in the treatment of disease and they of course work under the direction of the head of such department So with the non-med- ical meteorological assistant in the health office, he can give no help aside from the laboratory diagnosis of the germ dis ease.
 Owing to lack of a proper appre- hension of this distinction, tho health officer or department which Dr. Hark- ness hoped to build up to compare favorably in efficiency with such de- partments in other cities of our class like Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans an dothers is, at present, not properly health department at all having been relieved by this recent action of it's two most important aids toward fight ing contagious diseases-the use of a bacteriological assistant and the su- pervision of the milk inspection. I have no criticism to make of Mr. Duncan conducting a meteorological laboratory, nor am interested one way or another in the question of the nec- essity for a bacteriological aboratory to the mayors office. I only urge. that such a laboratory has been found to be a most important adjunct to the health department of other cities and that our city health office is in great need of one. Such mechanical work can be learned in few months and the salary