Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-12-01
AUGUSTA ANTI-TU-
BERCULOSIS LEAGUE
Annual Report of the Treasurer
and Chairman of Dispensary
Committee.

culosis League, which was read and
accepted at the annual meeting of the
league held Thursday Nov. II, in the
Library hail. showed that the total
receipts amounted to S1572.27 and the
expenditures were $1271.36 leaving a
balance of s3o1.91.
Printed below is the report of the
committee on dispensary which was
read at the meeting of the league by
| Blaine Owen, chairman of the COM
mittee, and was accepted. The re
! port shows that the work which Is
being done by the Augusta league
compares very favorably with that
done In other cities of the same size.
! The fact that the league lacks funds
| with which to buy nourishing food
for the tubercular patients is en-
phasized, and the committee shows
that there is need for some charitable
organization to which pitiful cases
can be turned over. The benefits of
a day camp for the patients are shown
in the report. Attention is also called
| to the fact that there is great need
for a free Institution for the treat
ment of patients who cannot pay.
/ The members of this committee are:
George E. Macomber, Blaine Owen
| (chairman), and Rev. Paul S. Phalen.
The report reads as follows:
l am informed that the work of the
| Augusta Anti tuberculosis League
| compares very favorably with the
work done in other cities of the same
size. In fact there are some cities in
Maine which have started a similar
organization and have been unable 10
support it. Some of the features
connected with the work are very dis
courag ing and l believe that we
should feel pleased with our progress
and with the results that We have
| been able to bring about.
Perhaps the hardest and most trying
of all the things which members Of
the league are obliged to do is the
collecting of the necessary funds to
conduct the institution. Strange as 1t
| may appear it is also hard to find
| patients. There is a great deal of
| tuberculosis in our city but the peo
| pie who have the disease or who sus-
| pect that they have Ii will treat them
| selves for almost everything else be-
| fore they will admit even to them
selves that they have tuberculosis.
Then the doctors for some reason or
other seem to take little interest in
our organization perhaps for purely
business reasons, but each case is
carefully Investigated and If the pa
tent is able to pay he Is sent to
regular physician. In other words
we do not treat any patients who can
afford to go to doctor. Another
feature of the. work which holds good
results back Is this: We find quite
| good many patients who absolutely
cannot buy n6urishing food such as
milk. eggs, etee-.rsIn the successful
| treatmen of the disease these articles
of food are necessary. and the league
cannot supply them on account "a
| lack of funds. Sometimes the city is
appealed to and sometimes the How
ard Benevolent Society. The results
are not satisfactory and there should
be some charitable organization to
which the league could turn with
| these pitifuly cases and be assured of
returns. In Gardiner the Red Cross
| Society looks after all cases as re-
ported by the nurse.
DR.. Mckay and Miss Dunn are
anxious to establish a day camp and
of course the benefits to patients un-
der our care would be great / be-
| lieve it would be possible to secure
the tentage free of cost and possibly
few cots with mattresses Furni-
ture would no doubt be contributed
| by members of the orga nization. 1t
| is customary in such camps to furu-
| ish the patients with the noon meal
and sometimes a lunch in the morning
and in the afternoon. Even if we
| could only furnish the lunches of milk
| and crackers or something mex
pensive of that sort ! believe the re-
| suits would be very satisfactory.
Quite few of the patients would
| have to bring their children to the day
camp and they would be much bet
| ter off than at home where they are
often hived up in the house so their
| parents can itch them. Also as ~
the case of patients living on Cushnoc
| Heights about the only place they
can find to keep cool is in the house
which often is I'll ventilated and not
very clean. As a matter of education
it would be splendid thing for the
children to see the neatness and sys-
conducted. Miss Dunn estimates that
if the day camp had been in use this
past summer from Is to 20 patients
would have awaited themselves of the
opportunity to attend. Then the at
traction of such an outfit would be so
great that others hearing of 1t would
probably be more willing to be ex-
amined than they are now because OF
the attractiveness of the treatment.
We quite often have patient whose
| only real chance for cure Is course
in a real sanitorium. During the
past year five have been sent to Fair
field and one to Hebron. This has
been done through the kindness OF
people who have been appealed to by
either member of the league or DR..
Mckay or Miss Dunn. There Is no
place in Maine where we can send
this class of patient free and there
certainly should be. / understand
that a new BILL win be presented to
the incoming legislature providing for
| a free institution for the treatment Of
| patients who cannot pay. There Is
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