Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-03-04

AN early morning call brought us to a home where disease and poverty
and despair were everywhere apparent The young wife and fou little ones
we're huddled about a kitchen stove, gray IN chill; the unmistakable cough
coming from a rear room told us where or patient was--the husband in
the last stage of tuberculosis. The picture was a most hopeless M. Two
things relieved its goom-thew winter sun pouring into the window and the
young woman in nursesd dress rapidly absorbing thu situation. With scarce
a second of hesitation her coat vas off. Another instant and the fire was
burning brightly. The patient was brought from his dingy Don and made
comfortable o a chair beside the fire. rs she worked the nurse spoke
words of cheer to the mother, persuaded her to wash the children and send
them to HI window to play. Later III tather vas urged to enter the los
pial. the children sent o a day nursery and the another able to pursue h1
occupation as laundress" a@@H& #a44&%
This is III beginning Of the tale of onew who travelled the rounds OF duty
with a worker o. the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago 1t ws merely
incident, me of the hundreds of situations that face the visiting nurse.
but it explains the work of the organization, which closed the twentieth
rear O it's life recently. The four score members of the Visiting Nurse
Association meet such conditions daily. Sacrificing their private clientele
and comfort, they make a band of earnest workers against poverty, disease
and vice whose labor will continue until there is n o Tor work to do
The Visiting Nurse Association had its inception in 1889, when q Few
women who became interested in the work Of the charitable nurse met and
organized. -Four nurses were at first employed. At the end OF the first
year the annual report showed that 1856 vsts had been made by the nurses
and III patients cared for. Such was the progress of the Visiting Nurse
Association that physicians quickly volunteered to assist n charitable
Chicago opened its purse. A fifth nurse ws added during the second year.
The work Of the visiting nurse during thu suffering and trials OF winter
"a only be equaled in effort by her work in the summer, when opposite
conditions exist. In the evilsmeling, rickety congestion of tenement and
Stun she works veal in and out n always energies at the n OF lei days
struggle the fresh, soothing, capable young woman she was when she en-
Her indefaigabIity makes thu record Of patients scared for thisy year
2oO19 in a total of 1854 visits. The nursess first salary is $50 a month.
After three months this increases to $50, and $50 is paid after five years Of
service Visits to the homes a well IS to the schools have done away to .
large extent with truancy and the spread OF infectious diseases among school
children. For his the nurse is responsible and the city has appreciated this
the extent of placing her on it's pay roll. Half of the Visiting Nurse
ASsocatio staff is devoted to school work, and in the last year 1t made
14,5o2 public school visits and 1874 calls at other schools. besides visiting n.
461 homes. Exactly 1907 cases in need of medical attention were found.
These wered duly reported to school inspectors, dispensarfes, hospitals, char
liable organizations and private physicians