The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1909-03-16
School Physicians.

Ii Senate bill NO. 10 is passed, every
Board of Education in the state must add
to its corps of officials medical inspector.
The bill makes mandatory what hereto
fore has been optional. The object of the
bill is good. The provisions of the amend
ment are as follows:
81. Amend section two hundred and
twenty nine of the act to which this is an
amendment so that it shall read as fol-
lows:
1929 Every Board of Education shall
employ competent physician to be
known as the medical inspector and fix
his salary and term of Office. Every
Board of Education shall adopt rules for
the government of the medical inspector,
which rules shall be submitted to the
State Board of Education for approval.
"The medical inspector shall examine
every pupil to learn whether any phYsi-
cal defect exists, and keep record from
year to year of the growth and develop
ment of such pupil, which record shall be
the property of the Board of Education,
and shall be delivered by said medical in
spector to his successor in Office. Said
Inspector shall lecture before the teachers
at such times as may be designated by
the Board of Education, instructing them
concerning the methods employed to de-
tect the first signs of communicable d.
seases and the recognized measures for
the promotion of health and the proven
ton of disease. The Board of Education
may appoint more than one medical in
spector A Board of Education may ex-
clude from school any child whose pres
ence in the school room shall be certified
by the medical Inspector as detrimental to
the health and cleanliness of the pupils
in the school, and shall notify the parent,
guardian or other person having control
of such child of the reason therefor If
the cause for exclusion is such that it can
be remedied, and the parent, guardian or
other person having control of the child
excluded as aforesaid shall fail or neglect
within a reasonable time to have the
cause for such exclusion removed, such
parent, guardian or other person shall be
proceeded against and, upon conviction,
be punishable as disorderly peason.
s'This act shall take effect Immediately. "
The mandatory provision of this bill
will not make any difference to Mount
Holly. Under the original law, which al
lowed medical inspector to be appointed,
the Board of Education of Northampton
township appointed Dr. Richard H. Par
sons to the position, and was the first
Board in this county to take advantage
of the law He at once took hold with
determination to make success and he
has succeeded. Every day he goes to the
school house and receives report OF the
condition of the pupils. If necessary he
makes a close inspection. He goes II ON
room to room and inspects the sanitary
conditions not only of the building but
of its inmates, and he has instructed the
teachers how to detect symptoms of pos
sible disease. In more than one instance
the information thus impaired has led to
precautions being taken that have pre-
vented closing of the school. Frequent
ly during the year DR.. Parsons addresses
the teachers on some subject that he
thinks will be to the interest of them
selves and the pupils under their care.
The salary he receives for this work is
ridiculously low in comparison to the time
and attention he devotes to it, and the bene-
fits derived from his labors.