Connecticut western news., 1916-06-01
HEALTH MEETING
County Association Discuss Tuber.
 cuIoss and T hIngs.

cuIosis and hIngs.
 The semi. annual meeting of the Litchfield County Health Association was held Thursday at the Hotel Can field, and was we'll attended, princi- pally by the health officers of the vari- ous town in the county. President w. W. Bierce, of Torrington. presided. Those present were: President W. w. Bierce, Secretary pr. F. H. Lee, of Canaan; J. c. Barker, New Milford; Creighton Baker, New Milford; Elias Pratt, Torrington; H. B. Hanchett, Torrington; William Forestille, War. ren; E. w. Bull, Kent; I. l.. Hamant, Norfolk; k Grand. .Lienard, West Cornwall $. c. Wheeler, Winsted; H. G. Stevens, New Preston; Judge D. A. Markham, president of the Hartford County Health Association; General H. O. Averill, Washington; W. B Bissell. LakevilJe; R. J. Lawton, Terryville; Francis $. Skiff, Falls Village; Giles Skiff, Sharon: G. Bragaw, West Goshen, and the princi- Der of the state tuberculosis commis- sion and superintendent of the sanitar- ium at Gaylord Farm, Wallingford, and Dr. John D. Black, of New Lon- don, secretary of the State Board of Health.
 The session was started shortly be- fore 12 o'clock, the west bound train, on which President Bierce and others arrived being about an hour late. There being no preliminary business to transact, President Bierce introduced Dr. Lyman, who gave an interesting paper on the treatment of tuberculosis. Dr. Lyman said, in part
 No one realizes more fully than I that our campaign, to be successful must embrace all classes and profes- sions of our people; and of all profes- sions there is none whose earnest and intelligent cooperation is of such vital importance as that of the health officers of our many communities. Such an opportunity as this is to me one of especial value, for it enables me to put before you my own view of the great problem of the control of tuberculosis in our state; and I trust through your discussion to get suggestions of other phases of the work which have not as yet presented themselves to me.
 Our fight against tuberculosis naturally divides itself into the two questions of the care of these already afflicted and the prevention of the fur ther spread of the disease.
 Our four state sanatoria at Hartford Shelton, Meriden and Norwich have l dot fc and, Gaylord Farm, Wildwood and the new New Haven Hospital annex will swell this total to we'll over 800 beds. From my point of view as a member of the Tuberculosis Commission and as Superintendent of Gaylord Farm, would say to you that there is no pres ent need for the state to extend her provision of sanatorium beds for early cases. We are at present always able to find bed in one or the other of our institutions for all the early ambu.ant cases that apply to us.
 There is need of some provision for the care, under proper control, of the | incOrrigible, dangerous cOnsumptive. This is a great and vexing question. and one which is as great problem eto i the local health officer as to the State Commission. The law gives you the power to order such cases under treat ment and confinement if necessary, but 1t has provided no place where they can be confined. The law says-and most properly-that such cases shall not be received or retained in the san- toria "unless separate provision is pro- i T Ia kIN NEo ,al, separate provision and no police power i if such provision were available. The Tuberculosis Commission will again present this problem to the next legis- Iature. Its vital importance to our work is so easily demonstrated that 1 i feel sure that if the health officers of the state would take the pains to ex- plain this one thing to their representa- tives in the next legislature, we should have but little trouble in securing the needed legislation.
 The two chief requirements for the control of tuberculosis are, first. that we shall know where the cases are and, second, that we shall have funds for providing adequate relief for the condi- tiOns that present.
 The Visiting Nurse is our very best agency for finding the cases, for her visits to the homes bring her to the at- tentlOn of the neighbors and bring them under her supervision. We all know that most cases of tuberculosis do not consult a physician until the disease is advanced and active.
 The visiting nurse does not wait for them to come but carries her message straight into the homes of these people and teaches these rules there where they should and must be taught, and, what is more, she teaches by demon stration and not by theory.
 want to take advantage of this opportunity to discuss with you one more question which is of greatest inn pOrtance to our tuberculosis work. It is a question in which you are all vitally interested, and in the proper solution of which you have a greater | ,,,4,,