Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1911-05-05
MUTUAL AID SOCIETY
Report Of Work Accomplished
During the Past Year
Greatest Difficulty is to Meet Demand
for Service-PIsn Commended by
American Hospital Association.

A review of the work accomplished by
the Brattleboro Mutual Aid association,
a classification of the cases treated,
financial statement and much other in
terestng material is given in the third
annual report of the association, which
has just been issued. The report says,
in part:
THAT this association has touched
upon a vital need of this community has
been shown by the fact that up to the
present time, our greatest difficulty has
been to meet the demand for the service
that we have tried to offer There are,
of course, details to be improved and
corrected, and many lines of usefulness
are still untouched, but a working or
ganization has been created that can and
does meet need which has evidently
been great.
Our supervising nurse, Miss Mary b.
Loomis, now has under her a body OF
seven attendants, doing work that often
requires courage and unselishness, and
always calls for cheerfulness and capa-
bility.
These attendants have recently been
supplemented by the members of a class
in household service, who we hope will
become competent in all household work
that woman should know, while at the
same time helping to perform needed
service in the community. The course of
training will be one year. The class is
in charge of a trained instructor who is
a member of the house staff.
Beginning February l, a graduate
district nurse, Miss Elizabeth Ross was
added to the staff. 1t is hoped that this
bringing together of the two kinds of
nursing service will increase the eff
cheney of both.
"These new departures, combined with
the increase in our staff of attendants,
has made necessary larger living accom-
modations, and accordingly the Stebbins
house, on Canal street, has been hired to
serve as new headquarters.
''In addition to this staff at headquar-
tiers we have on our exchange list the
graduate nurses in this and nearby COM
munities, experienced nurses in private
practice, and women available by the
hour or day for all kinds of household
service.
Thus provided we hope to he able to
meet large part of the household
needs arising in time of sickness, and
likewise to render much service that will
be preventive as well as remedial"
A wide discussion of the problem of
handling sickness in families of limited
means has taken place throughout the
country the past year The American
Hospital association appointed COM
mittee to investigate the subject and
after examining the work of different
associations, including the Brattleboro
Mutual Aid association, the recommen-
dation of the committee was nearly word
for word the stated purpose of the Brat
tleboro association. The chairman of
the committee wrote the association
letter in which he said: Your work at
Brattleboro was, in the opinion of the
committee, entitled to the very highest
credit. 1t seemed to us to be the pra cti-
cal way of meeting the need and our
report was very considerably influenced
by what you told us of this work"
Experience has shown the need of a
system of insurance to assist in handling
sickness. The fact Is mentioned that
several families have been simply over
whelmed by sickness which has left them
in a condition of financial emba IRA ssment
from which 1t will take them years to
recover and which may force some of
them to become unwilling recipients of
charity. Through the system of fire in
surance the people whose houses do not
burn down help by their premiums to
provide for those who do suffer loss by
fire. In the same way" the report
says, by a special system of insurance,
all might be protected from the cost Of
unusual sickness. while those who are
mercifully spared severe sickness would
thus help out the less fortunate"
The report gives a tabulated list of $50
cases cared for and speaks in compl-
mentary terms of the volunteer helpers
whose contributions of delicacies have
resulted in rapid gain in strength in
many instances where a patient has been
conValescent. The financial statement
shows receipts during the year Of
s6559.S7 including a balance of 1850. 9S
at the beginning of the year covered by
the report. The expenses were $6446 65.
A letter from Chairman John Calvin Of
the board of selectmen contained the
following: 1.-THE assistance which you
have given us during the past year, in
the care of needy and unfortunate per-
sons, has enabled the town of Brattle-
boro to better relieve the suffering of
worthy poor in several instances"
The house staff consists of Miss Mary
b. LOOMS, supervisor of attendants and
Miss Elizabeth Ross, district nurse.
The attendants are Mrs Ada e Hall,
Miss Blanche ]. Boyd Miss Emma l..
Hilliard, Mrs. Elsie C. Paige, Miss Hattie
L. White and Miss Elizabeth NJ Hanson.
The volunteer social workers are Mrs A.
p. Atwood, Mrs. A. H. Brasor, Mrs. F.
L. Hunt, Mrs NJ. j. Moran, Mrs. II. c.
Rice, Mrs. F. C. Sargent and Mrs. A. p.