Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-04-12
Brings Report
from the Boston
Conference Of
Health Boards

DR.. A. G. Young. secretary, State
Board of Health. returned Wednesday
morning from conference at the
State House in Boston at which the
executive health officers of the state
boards of health of all the New Eng
| land states were present. The object
of the meeting was that there might be
| in those states a we'll defined and
| clearly thought out cooperative pol
icy in doing the various kinds of work
which health departments. state and
municipal, may have to do under the
unusual conditions which now con-
! front them. A conference of these
same health officers was held last sea-
son in the same place and the mutual
aid which came from cooperative
work in handling the infantile paraly
sis situation suggested this second
New England conference as a means
of making ready for the much greater
emergency which is now facing us.
In the discussion it was brought out
THAT the preparedness committees have
| focused their attention on the fight
| ing personnel; that is. the soldiers and
sailors SO far as medical and hygien-
lc f11lteTS nave DteN COIlSfuSItu dL all,
| it has been in the line of taking care
of the actual fighting units The Euro
pean war has taught us very clearly
that under war conditions there is an
immense scope for sanitary service and
activity among the civil population. 1t
was thought that distinct separation
should be made, although perfect CO.
operation be maintained, between the
medical and sanitary service for the
actual military forces and for the SAN
itary and hygienic work for the civ
ilian population.
1t was agreed that state health de-
partments must use their influence in
maintaining local health organizations
intact. There is every reason to be-
liecc that there will be the fullest need
of the highest degree of efficiency in
the personnel Of health officers and
their assistants.
Public health nurses with their spe-
cial training for their duties should be
kept in place. The thoughts of many
persons seem to grasp nothing but
Red Cross work as a means of coping
with war time emergencies among the
civilian population, while in fact the
nurses of that organization are wholly
untitled as public health workers. On
the other hand, health nurses. or visit
ing nurses as they are sometimes call
cd, should be kept in their accustomed
places.
1t was believed that it would be very
unfortunate if the federal public ser
vice should be used as some plans
contemplate, merely as a sort of aux
ilary military medical service to the
army and navy medical corps instead
of retaining strictly civilian organ
ization with its functions and activi-
ties amplifed as proves necessary in
order to become a true directing head
of all national hygiene in its relation
ship to war conditions.
Under the law defining the powers
and duties of the surgeon general of
that service, he is required to call
every year a conference of representa-
tives of state and territorial health Of
flcials with his service, and this year
the call was to meet on the last two
days of May. A telegram was sent to
Surgeon General Blue of the United
States Public Health Service signed
by the representatives of the New
England states asking that his confer
ence be called at an earlier date than
had been planned to consider and
formulate more promptly uniform
policy in reference to the relations of
the health officials of the several states
and territories to each other and to
the national government as effected by
the national emergency associated in
the present state of war.