Connecticut western news., 1914-05-28
THE MASS MEETING
Speakers Explain Visiting Nurse Idea to Interested Crowd.

More than l0O persons aCCenQeQ the mass meeting in Town Hall, Thursday evening in the interest of the Visiting Nurse movement, and gratifying de- gree of interest was manifested. A dozen Camp Fire Girls, in nurse cos tune, acting as ushers, showed the people to their seats and after the speaking passed the membership cards, for signatures. j,......-. ... '.
 Rev. E. c. Gillette presided, and George Hardenbergh officiated as clerk of the meeting.
 In opening the meeting MT. Gillette gave brief, srccinct and enlightening account of the inception and develop ment of the movement for the employ ment of visiting nurse in Canaan, iting nurse Of salisbury, who spoke ill an interes Ing manneh of the exper- fences ana duties of the public nurse, the varied routine of her daily work, and the benefit derived by the commun- ity. She said the calls varied from 10 minutes to 24 hours in duration, &C., cording to the urgency or seriousness of the case, and the fees are graduated, from nothing to $1 for an hours at- tendance and 50 cents for the second hour. These fees, which go into the fund of the Association, and not to the nurse, are always paid willingly, and in many. cases the patient gladly and voluntarily pays more than the fee charged, with he understanding that the. overplus sF,all be used to pay for those who cannot afford to pay Last year the fees thus collected by the Salisbury Association amounted to $530, which goes toward the maintenance of the organization. Lakeville, by the way, has two nurses, who last year made 2,025 visits to 355 patients, and 812 friendly calls s''-that is, advisory and prenatal visits, the purposes of which were to cheer up the sick or dis couraged, give friendly advice, tell and listen to stories, etc. Miss NanCleft's s description of days routine was es- pecially interesting, and her exhibition of her travelling bag of nurses equip ment was no less so. She illuminel her remarks with occasional humorous digressions which kept her hearers in good humor. ... - .& ..
 Dr. F. s. Skiff, of Falls Village, fol lowed Miss VanCleft and told of his own professional experience, and the experience of Falls Village and Lime Rock, with the Visiting Nurse during the last four years. He was eloquent and enthusiastic i'll his tribute to Nurse Giles fidelity and efficiency; gave a comprehensive idea of the nurses work as an auxiliary to the work of the physician The nurse is available in patient cannot reach the doctor. She belongs to everybody in the community and her services are available for all. She is always ready to respond to a quick call, and her services are of the highest value. Dr. Skiff gave some account of the organization of the Falls Village and Lime Rock Nurse Associa- tion, and of the willingness and gen. erosity of the people in contributing to its support. He reported that Miss Gile, the Falls Village nurse, .(who makes a monthly report to him, as president of the association made 1, 221 sick calls from last August to the present month, an average of 135 calls month ;the highest monthly record be- ing 214 calls, and the lowest 88; also 5I8 friendly calls at 135 different places. The income from fees in that time was $279.59 expenditures, $191.- TT. He congratulated Canaan on its purpose to secure the services of a vis- iting nurse, and advised that great care be taken in the selection of such a nurse. He recommended that nurse of experience be engaged, and one of sterling character, who would be always kind and cheerful, but firm, loyal, true and conscientious, who would put her whole soul into her work, exercise practical common sense, and above all, one who would keep her own counsel as she visited the various homes. On the other hand, the nurse would expect from the association that employs her a good, comfortable home and to be nicely treated, and there should be in that home somebody who would be in hearty sympathy with her work. Said he: "We all love Miss Gile, and if Canaan ID 1O1OuuhOC OhOuSSu UO o6CuI0 d hOdoo like her, you will be fortunate indeed. "
 Dr. J. G. Adam started off by telling a pat story, the application of which was, that after listening to Dr. Skiff, he was persuaded that "Falls Village is pretty good place, after all. '' Dr. Adam said he had two hobbies-one of them was his back yard, the chief at tractive features of which had been winter-killed; and the other was a vis- iting nurse for Canaan. In answer to his own question, Do we need visit ing nurse in Canaan? he cited num- Der of instances, in his own practice, which showed the inefficiency of home care for the sick. One man, who was caring for a patient, had followed the doctors instructions by putting on a poultice outside of the patients fan nel undershirt. In another instance. 8 case of appendicitis, the head of the family, an Italian, had split black chicken in two, and applied both halves to the body of the sufferer. Of the o;@ h.