The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1917-04-18
WOMEN WILL SERVE COUNTRY
AS WELL AS MEN.

The women of the country are
awakening to the fact that the time
may be near at hand when the Unit.
ed States may need their services
as we'll as those of the men. Rela'
lively speaking so few are qualified
to act as nurses. The great majority
find themselves merely with the desire
to serve with no means of fulfilling it
Recognizing this the Red Cross offers
several courses to women who wish
to qualify as nurses assistants in
time of war, and it is proposed to Or
ganize a class of Greenwood women
who will be willing to offer their SER
vices in a base hospital should the need
arise.
!, Each of the Red Cross courses has
the added value Of giving the student
information of much value in the home
and the woman who completes one or
more Of these lines Of study will find
| that she has added materially to he1
knowledge of sanitation and hygiene,
so hat whether war comes or not she
will be a better housewife, a more In
telligent mother and a better citizen
for having the course The prospect
uses of four courses has been received
here, one from the Bureau of Medical
Service, Department Of Military Re-
lief of the Red Cross and the other
two from the Bureau Service of the
Red Cross. The first mentioned is a
First Aid course and is explained by
this paragraph in the prospectus:
First Aid classes for women are only
intended to teach them what they can
do when accidents and sudden illnesses
occur in their own homes, or else
where, and are not, except that they
will have added materially to their
general information, expected to, or to
be accepted, as qualifying them for
service with the Red Cross in the time
of war. However, when selecting
women for assignment to duty as
Nurses Aids with Red Cross hospital
units, preference will usually be CIV
IN to those who hold Red Cross GER
t~ificates Of proficiency in First Aid to
the injured in addition to courses un-
der the Department of Instruction for
Women"
The other three courses, one in ele-
mentary hygiene and home care Of
the sick, a second in home dietetics
and the last in preparation of surgical
dressings are more important than the
first. Elementary hygiene and Home
Care of the sick is to be regarded as
preparation for service in connection
with the base hospital units now be-
ing organized by the Red Gross for
service in the event Of war. In select
ing women for such service the pref
rence will be given to thosse who
have had not only a course in Elemen-
tary Hygiene and Home Care Of the
Sick, but also the other courses of in
struction offered including the first
and those selected by the Chief Nurse
of a hospital unit for service will be
designated as Volunteer Nurses Aids
and their services will be similar to
that of the Volunteer Aid Detach-
ment, aff]ectionately known throughout
the army of the Allies by both the
British Tommy and the French poilu
as the v. A. DIS.
When called into service the Volun-
teer Nurses Aids will be under the
direction of the Chief of the base hos
pital Unit who is necessarily a Red
Cross nurse. They serve without pay
but may be furnished transportation
lodging and subsistence. The Rec
Cross urs of instruction forms g
convenient selection and classification
of women for service in convalescent
hospitals Of surgical supplies, cleri
cal work and in the training of those
who have become unfit for their usua
occupations through blindness loss Of
limbs, etc.
A chapter of the american Rec
Cross Society was organized her
Tuesday afternoon which action b!
he ladies of the city is to be commend
ed. They have entered heartily int
the work not only here but all owe
the state and Union and their effort
will be of much avail. Over sevent,
members were signed up at the meet
ing Tuesday and the committees sen
out from that meeting to secure 9th
Ell. memberships are receiving ever
encouragement and report much sue
cess. Practically everyone approach
ed by the committees place
his or her name on the list. By tn
end of the week it is expected tina
virtually everyone in town will belon
to the Red Cross.