Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-05-16
A SUCCESSFUL PLAN FOR
MEDICAL INSPECTION.

School Board Journal.
Last September the board of educa-
ton of Wausau, city of 1900 people
in the center of Wisconsin, decided
to establish system of medical in
spection in the schools.
There are eight school buildings,
two of them situated within hall a
block of each other, so that seven
physicians could easily do the neces-
sary work. Seven physicians were
employed, one for each school center.
Each physician visits his school CEN
ter at 9c'clock on each morning of
the five school days of the week.
Physicians receive one dollar for each
visit, making a cost of seven dollars
per day. These school centers are
conveniently situated for the paro-
chial schools as well as for the public
schools, and the children of parochial
schools are sent to the examining
physicians just rs the pupils of the
public school are.
Every child who has been absent
one-half day or more without the
prior knowledge and consent of the
teacher is sent to the examining ply
stefan of his school center, and must
obtain clean bill of health before he
resumes his school work. Any child
whom the teacher suspects of having
contagious disease or having been ex-
posed to such disease, and all children
having adenoid growths, defective
hearing or eyesight, enlarged tonsils,
or any other defect which interferes
with successful school work, are sent
to the examining physician, and the
physician makes a report Immediate
ly both to the teacher and to the
parent.
All cases of conJagion and all sus-
picious cases are promptly sent home
and reported to the health officer. If
the parent fails to give proper atten-
tion to the child after having been
notified by the physician, the teacher
discovers this by inquiry later and
follows it up with personal visit
herself, or asks one of the two visit
ing nurses to go to the home and give
suitable instructions to the parents.
A free infirmary and two visiting
nurses are supported in Wausau by
private subscription. In this free in
Urinary, children in need of medical
or surgical aid are treated free of
charge, if, upon investigation, their
parents are found to be too poor to
afford proper medical treatment.
Cards which entitle the children to
treatment free of charge are dis
tributed to be given TO INDECENT
pupils.
In the high school all students who
take part in athletics have been given
careful examination to make GER
tain that they were physically sound
and that the exeTtion and strain Incl
dent to football, basketball, field and
track work, would not overtax them
physically. The work has been car
ried on for the boys by the teacher
of physiology in the high school, who
is well prepared to do the work in a
thorough and scientific manner; while
the work for the girls has also been
carried on by lady teacher in the
high school, who has charge of the
girls athletic games.
The effect of medical inspection has
been TO increase the average daily at
tendance in the schools. With practi- |
caIly the same total enrolment this
year that there was last year, there
have been S,277i days more attend |
ance than for the corresponding
months Of last year. The same num- |
Der of teachers have been able to care
for an average of eighty-three more
pupils in daily attendance tbs year
than we had last year at no addition
al expense for instruction, and with |
saving of mucii loss of time to the
school as a whole. The greater regu- |
larity OF attendance has made the |
work Of the grade teachers easier also.
because less time had TO be given 10
the abSentees than was required q
year ago. The increased attendance |
was due TO several causes, chief OF
which was the confidence established /
in the community that every precau-
ton was beinr taken To safeguard the y