The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-08-19
State Board Should
Do the Best Possible.


The state board Of health has mailed
out to the newspapers a bulletin re-
lating to the enforcement of the new
law for medical inspection of pupils
attending public schools, in which it
is stated that the total revenues de-
rived from the past year from the one
mill levy aggregated about $4,000,
and that this amount, with the in
creased expenditures caused by the
medical inspection, will be insufficient,
The board estimates the number Of
school children at more than 10000
and as the law prohibits an inspector
having more than $500 children IN
der his care. it win mean an annual
expenditure Of not less than $4,000.
The matter is a very important one
and all the state board can do under
the circumstances is to solve the prob
lem as best it can and demonstrate
the results to the next legislature,
The law as passed is defective and
does not go far enough. The medical
inspection will get the public out OF
school, but Florida's lawmakers failed
to provide method of getting the
child back, for there is no follow VI
system. 1t should have gone further
and provided for school nurses, whose
duty it would be to follow the child
to the home, talk with the mother anC
show the latter the best methods Of
caring for the child in order to rene.
dy the defects. Then the pupil could
return to the school and, cured of it,
ailment, be better fitted to study thar
before.
But inasmuch as the Legislature
failed to provide for these things the
state board must make the best of the
situation. It would carry out the pro.
visions as best it can, without i'm
pairing other necessary work, and
then if the legislature desires to SEE
the work properly carried out, let il
appropriate sufficient money after the
members have made a more thorough
study Of the subject than they die
when they enacted the present meas.
ure.
That the bill Of health has prob.
lem before it there can be no doubt
The bulletin sent out under the head
ing of Inspecting School Children,
clearly demonstrate this fact. That
the public may thoroughly understand
the situation The Journal prints THU
bulletin in part below:
'This act provides that the county
physician of each county, where tn,
county has such an officer, shall b,
the medical inspector Of the children
Of the county, and where no such off
Ger has been named, the county com
missioners shall appoint one, but il
either case the inspector is to be PAL,
by the State Board of Health from it
funds. It provides, also, that no on
inspector shall be responsible for tn,
examination of more than $500 child
rem.
There is the further proviso tina
in cities of more than 5000 population
in which the medical inspection o
the school children has already bee
established by the authorizes of sue
cities, this law shall not be operative
provided that such city inspection
shall use the forms prescribed by tn
State Board and shall report to it.
Now, this inspection Of the childre
includes two branches or division
of work, one to determine their free
dom from contagious diseases, whic
if present, would render them a men
ace to each other and to the communi
tv. The other is to examine eac
pupil for the existence of physics
defects, such as adeneids, incipien
consumption, defective hearing q
sight, the presence Of body lice an
other troubles which make the chill
defective physically and consequent
mentally, and which unless relieve
become q handicap through all his lif
Now the cost of this service is tn
problem that the State Health Boar
is trying to solve. Operations of tn
same nature under the Russell Sag
Foundation, covering wide and lon
experience, have placed the cost pc
child Of such examination to deter
mine the presence of contagious dis
ease, at fifteen cents. Thirty-fv