The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1916-02-18
PAGE No. TWO.
District Nursing.

knowledge of the conditions that
conserve health is the surest pre-
yention of disease.
Prevention is the modern way to
treat disease--a system of prepared
ness that wins battles by removing
the causes for them and settles wars
that never happen.
Florida's State Board of Health
something more than year ago es-
tablished a system of educating the
people of the State particularly with
regard to the prevention OF tuberculo-
sis and the treatment of the disease
in its earlier and durable stages. I'm
der this plan three trained and eff
ficient nurses were sent out into the
State, each with her own district or
section to cover; within that district
to become acquainted with actual
conditions; to investigate, so far as
possible all individual cases where
the disease had obtained hold; to
advise as to the care of the patient;
to urge and put in operation the open
air isolation of each case and to adj
ference of the disease to others who
might become infected.
Manifestly it was impossible for
the three nurses to maintain efficient
service among the 100000 or 100000
people outside the larger cities, and
in July of 1915, the three nurses
were increased to six, each with ap-
proximately 100000 citizens and cit
ienesses under her care.
Very soon it was discovered that
these women who were bringing help
to the helpless were called upon for
advice about many health and SAM
tary conditions besides tuberculosis.
Mothers of sick children, men and
women and children with sub-normal
health or suffering from maladies Of
which they knew nothing, asked for
help and advice and it was given as
free as air.
So successful has been the practi-
cal working out of this method of
education, that the State Board of
Health at it's meeting at Pensacola,
February 9Th, determined once more
to double the number of district pub
lie health nurses, and as the plan can
be worked out to meet the new con-
ditions, and the State be re-district-
ed, twelve of them will be at work in
Florida, coming with their messages
of advice and encouragement and
personal aid to those who need them
most
They will not confine their work to
the tuberculosis, but they will be ad-
visers about sanitation and how to
get and maintain better health con-
ditions. AS scouts on the firing
line, they will bring first aid to those
in trouble and will summon skilled
medical service when it is needed
Of course, most of them will have
from $4,000 to 10000 people in her
district, but many of these will not
need the service. The extension of
this service is an extension of the eff
ficiency of the Board in a most prac-
teal way.
In order to secure the utmost eff
cheney in the added service, the six
new nurses will be appointed by
competitive examination before a
board TO expert medical men and san
itists. 1t will be held at the O.
of the State Board of Health, Jack
sonville, February 25th and 26th.
Of course, this extension of the SER
vice calls for added expediture. And
how has it been provided?
BY robbing the hog!
The free distribution of hog chol-
era serum to the farmers of Florida
some years ago was put upon the
State Board of Health by a legisla-
ture that must have had greater con-