The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-06-12
HEALTH DEPT.
REORGAN|zED
Methods of Department Changed
Entirely in Eleven Months of
New Administration
WORK CAMPAIGN FOR
SANITATION OF CITY
Death Rate of County and City Is
Per Cent Lower, Birth Rate Is
Per Cent Higher During Past
Year Than for Year Preceding

Complete reorganization of the
health department and the complla-
ton of Invaluable statistics which had
never been compiled and which form
the basis of all comparisons with past
records of other communities, ia the
net result of the work of II months
since the office of county and city
health officer was taken over by DR..
Thomas Tetreau. This has been ac-
complished simultaneously with the
work of lettering sanitary conditions
and reducing the death rate of Yak
ina county from 44.75 per month for
1910-11 to 33.1S per month for 1
months ending May 81. With the ad-
vantage of the perfected organization
1t is the hope of the department now
to keep up the good record estab
lished. which has already placed
North Yakima among the healthiesi
cities of the whole country.
Population Increasing
These stories that are being told
bout hundreds of empty houses in
| North Yakima are scarcely borne out
by the figures" said DR.. Tetreau.
Take the death rate. The average
number of deaths per month during
the year from July l, 1910. to June
80, 1911, was 44.75. For the l.
months ending May 81, 1912. the
average per month was 33.1S. That is
approximately 25 per cent decrease
in the death rate. 1t might easily be
argued that the lower death rate is
At 1,
no one. will contend, think, that the
population of the city has decreased
% per cent in the last year.
T. Birth Rate Tells story
| ''The birth rate tells of an actual
increase, at about the same rate in
the whole county as in, the city OF
North Yakima. The returns from the
whole county for the IL months from
July 1, 1910, to June 80, 1911, show g
total in that time of 557 births. Dur.
ing the IL months from July /, 1911
to May 81, 1912. the total number O.
| births was GA, an increase of more
than 20 per cent and another month
to go on, which will bring it to 25 pei
cent for the year.
I'm the city, which some of tn,
|
| the total number of births during tn,
year from July 1. 1910, to June 80
1911. was 1872, while during the Il
months from July l, 1911, to May 81
1912. the total number was 266. abou
\, 20 per cent Increase, as against the 2I
/ per cent decrease in the death rate.
| Cut Death Rate of Young
| Another noticeable thing about TIL,
: cutting of the death rate is the fac
that the decrease in deaths is almos
I entirely among the young, who's
/ lives, from an economic standpoint
are the most valuable. In theF 81,
months following the beginning of ou
sanitary work the number of death
was 1911, as against ais for the CORE
spending six months. of the year he
fore. 1910. That is decrease of prac
tically all in the deaths of people les
than 80 years of age, as the tables W,
have prepared show.
THE infant mortality is Away
largest. For instance, the United
States census figures. compiled from
: 20 states included in the registration
area, show that out of about 500, GOT
deaths $4,000, or about Is per cent
were of children less than one yea
old, that is, 16 per cent of our mortal
ity occurs in the first year and abou
25 per cent of it in the first five years
of life.
In Yakima county during the 81,
months of 1910 corresponding to tn.
records we kept after beginning gu
work last summer, there We're deaths
of 15S people under 80 years of age
and in the six months of last yea
only Sc of the same class, a decreas
of ~, or 33 per cent
| "On the other hand, the deaths o
people more than 80 years of age il
tbs six months of 1910 We're 800, an.
in the six months of 1911, los, de
crease for 1911 of only Is, or exactl,
s per cent.
Preparing Figures Constantly
when we took over the health de
partment there was absolutely n,
record by which we could tell any
thing except the number of deaths o
births. The causes of death, and il
many cases the location of the deaths
We could not ascertain at all. w
went to work to straighten this out
in many cases working for weeks ol
the records of the county and gettinj
information from the state depart
ment which took months to get it GU
for us.
Now VIC keep q monthly record
not only of all Of the deaths ant
births, but also Of ell or the cases o
any OF the important diseases
whether they caused deaths or not.
THE deputy health officers. whethc
or not they sent in any reports from
the county previously. never had tibet
reports filed. for we could find none
Now they report regularly once
month, and their reports make III
part of our statistical record.
I'VE know just how many case
| there hava hean of evarv irnnnrf q n