Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-08-26
WOMEN CAMPAIGNING
FOR COUNTY SANATORlUM
The State Federation Of Women's
Clubs Continues Activities In In
terest of County Senatorial.

terest Of County Senatorial.
In accordance with resolution
passed at our annual meeting in
Brainerd last September, the Public
Health Committee of the Minnesota
Federation of Women's Clubs is using
every means in it's power to convince
the tax payers of the state Of the
necessity of appropriating money for
the establishment of County Sanator-
iums.
While we are emphasizing the pos
sibility of prevention and cure of tu-
berculosis, the fact that it is COM
municable must ever be borne in
mind, for this is the basic fact upon
which rests the necessity of institu-
tional care of consumptives. Care
full scientific investigation carried on
in this country and abroad, has traced
very large percentage of tuberculo-
sis infection to the slow steady con-
tact with the disease in the home.
Obviously, the thing to do is to re-
move from the home the source of in
lection. This is especially important
to safeguard the children, who are ex.
tremely susceptible to infection. Ply
sicians say that many cases of tuber-
culosis developing in later life are
without doubt due to infection during
childhood.
Miss Anna Lantz, we'll known tu-
berculosis visiting nurse in New York
desirability of institutional treatment
of tuberculosis: "Any nurse who has
tried it, will tell you that it is impos-
sible to give the constant supervision
necessary for the application of the
precautionary measures that will pro-
tect the well, in home where there
is case of even moderately advanc-
ed tuberculosis. It is easy, however,
when a case has been removed, and
in that fact we see the importance Of
public tuberculosis hospitals.
Unfortunately, physicians do not as
yet entirely agree as to the impera-
tive need of the HospitalSanatorium
DR.. King, Superintendent Of LOOMS
Sanatorium in New York says that
among those who have written dispar-
agingly of the efficacy of sanatorium
treatment, not one has been sana-
forum worker or knows at first hand
of sanatorium methods. He claims
that the opinion of the critics has
been based upon acquaintances with
a few isolated instances, and the
reading of sanatorium reports, which
can never give an adequate concep-
ton of the work which is actually &C.
complished within the sanatorium.
DR.. Simon Flexner, Director of the
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Re-
search writes: 1T is significant that
the falling in the death rates from tu-
berculosis is found to be going on in
precisely those countries, and exactly
in proportion to the extent of provis-
ion, in which hospitals and sanator-
ium care has been provided"
The plan of numerous small institu-
tons is advocated and urged by DR..
Trudeau, the beloved pioneer of sana-
forum work in America, by DR.. Adolf
plus Knopf of New York, DR.. Philip
of Edinburgh, DR.. Bowditch of Bos-
ton and other tuberculosis specialists,
too numerous to mention. Shortly
before his death, DR.. Robert Koch.
the discoverer of the tubercle bacillus,
cabled to the State Charities Aid AS
ISOLATION of New York, which is at
the head of the County Sanatorilm
project in that State: "Your program
is the best I know to reduce death
rate of tuberculosis in shortest time
possible"
In the light Of such universal ex-
pert testimony in favor of the plan we
are trying to carry out in Minnesota,
the counties cannot 60 far wrong in
meeting half way the offer Of the state
to assist in establishing and maintain
ing these sanatoria, so generally con-
coded to be necessary at this stage in
the world fight against tuberculosis.
We appeal to the physicians of Min
nesota to heartily cooperate in the es-
adjustment of county sanatoriums in
the state. Especially do we urge the
medical men to be more diligent in
reporting cases of tuberculosis. Last
year, the State Board of Health re-
port recorded about 500 cases Of tu-
berculosis, with over 1000 deaths.
The most conservative estimate of
living cases of tuberculosis multiplies
the number of death by five. There
must be at least 10000 cases Of tuber-
culosis in Minnesota.
Registration of cases is very i'm
! perative means toward an important
end, i. e., the sanitary supervision Of
Lfha natient in his home, or better