The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-11-28


a hospital for the treatment of people
suffering from tuberculosis DR.. ii. T..
DearhOlt of Milwaukee, has sent out
statement showing the provision of
the state law in regard 60 these insti-
tutions and showing statistics that
viii be strong aid in convincing the
people Of the county of the value of
such institutions. DR.. Dearholt says
in part:
No more significant advance has
been made in Wisconsin toward the
control of preventable disease than
that made by the legislature at the
1910 session, when an act was passed
granting permission to coun5ies for
the establishment of sanitariums for
the treatment and care Of second and
third stage consumptives.
Briefly the law may be summarized
as follows:
sent of the state board Of control any
county may establish county sani-
forum for advanced cases of tuoer-
culosis, either in connection with or
separate from other county institu-
tions, or by special tax or bond issue.
2. Managem mt. An unsalaried
board of trustees Of three members
is to be in control of the sanitarium.
They are to appoint a graduate nurse
as superintendent, a visiting Thysi-
clan, and exercise general supervision.
3. Admission of Patients. GAY In
digent patients who have resided in
the state year or more may be adj
mitted through an application to the
county judge, who must be satisfied
that the patient is INDECENT and that
he is in the secondary or more advance
ed stage Of the disease. (b) Patients
not INDECENT are to pay an amount not
to exceed the per capita cost Of main
tenance.
4. State Aid. The county will re-
ceive from the state So per week for
each patient, who is a public charge.
The state is to contribute $4,000 a
year to be divided among the county
sanitoria.
The campaign for the establishment
OF county sanitoria is frequently en-
barrassed by objection to the wise pro-
vision Of the state law which limits
the admission of patients to the second
and third stages of the disease. The
very chronic nature and insidious on
set of tuberculosis makes it almost i'm
possible for the average person to re-
alize how seldom the disease is dis.
covered in the first stage. This has
led to the notion that an institution
for the second and third stages will be
filed with patients waiting but few
days or weeks at most for the under
taker. Instead, in most cases, as soon
as the germs are discovered in the
sputum the disease is advanced to the
second stage at least. How seldom a
positive diagnois is made before this
time can be testified to by any ply
stefan.
Further evidence is offered in the
reports of the Wisconsin State Tu.
berculosis Sanitorium.
In the first report covering the
period from the opening Of Nov. E,
1907, to June 30, 1908, of the 4S
cases reported upon, but one was in
the incipient stage.
In the second report, covering the
period from July 1, 1908, to June 30,
1910, but 81 or 10.1 per cent of the
total patients Admitted to the state
sanitarium were in the first or Incl
pient stage. Notwithstanding this fact,
1888 per cent of all cases were ap-
parently cured, 27,36 per cent were
arrested and 1886 per cent were i'm
proved. Nearly, if not quite all, were
made safe so far as transmitting the
disease to others is concerned. From
the standpoint of the public health Of
fetal, this, after all, is the most i'm
portant consideration. Even at the
private sanitarium at Steven s Point
where it might have been expected
that the patients would have secured
earlier diagnosis, I doubt If a much
larger percentage of first stage cases
is Admitted. The public should be re.
assured, therefore, that for all practi-
cal purposes no cases will be refused
at the county sanitoria because of be-
ing in too early stage of the disease
Following almost Immediately the
passage of the enabling act, seven
counties took cognizance of the local
need By making more or less ADEQUATE
provision. They are Douglas, Milwau-
kee, Outagamie, Racine, Fond lu Lac,
Eau Claire and Manitowoc. At this
writing prospects for sanatoria in