The Glenwood post., 1917-06-09
CARE OF SOLDIERS
ON WESTERN FRONT
Continued from page one)

their wounds redressed and fractured
bones set If the wound is slight the
soldier is sent back to his unit. A no.
tification is made of those requiring
further attention and they are directed
| to the first line ambulance in the rear.
This far the journey is very tedious
owing to the fact that it is fraught
with danger, and as the journey has to
be made through the trenches and along
secluded roads during lull in the
fighting or after darkness, the wound
ed have to give the fresh soldiers going
into the trenches the right of way.
The last part of the journey may be
made in army ambulances or trains
drawn by donkeys. 1t all depends M
the character of the line of defense
being used in the campaign.
The first line ambulance is situated
on a farm or in village just out Of
reach of the enemy's guns. Here we
find a. competent surgical staff with
corps of ambulances and stretcher
bearers, all under the supervision of
chief surgeon of the army medical
corps. Wounded arriving here without
previous attention have their wounds
dressed and if not serious, as before,
they are sent back to their unit. The
other cases, of which previous mention
has been made, have their wourfds' re-
dressed and fractured bones reset. The
motor ambulances are in readiness to
transport the wounded to the rear.
Should an operation be urgent, we find
here motor ambulance fully equipped
as an operating laboratory with a
special surgeon and radiologist to take
charge of such cases.
Also at this station a hurried dag
nosis is made of each case and cards of
different colors pinned to the patient.
The color indicates nature of injury,
how far the patient is to be transport
ed at a time and whether sitting or re-
clining. A special colored card md
Gates sickness.
The motor ambulances of the army
and Red Cross transport the wounded
to the sorting station in the rear,
which is situated adjacent to a stand
ard gauge railway and maintains ex-
pert surgical and medical services.
Here the wounded are loaded onto
the trains departing for the field base
hospital, except the emergency cases
not previously taken care of which are
attended to without further DELAY and
are held with those who have suffered
seriously as a result of the trip until
sufficiently improved to continue the
trip. All depart for the field base hos
pital just as soon as conditions will
permit.
AS the trains, which are fully
equipped for operations in emergency
cases, pull into the distributing station
or field base hospital with their hun
dreds of wounded soldiers, the real
diagnosis and disposition of the patient
is accomplished by Red Cross surgeons
and physicians in charge. The Red
Cross nurses services begin here, and
let it be understood there is distrib-
uting station behind each army, of five
hundred beds or more.
The wounded on arriving here are
whizzed off in Red Cross ambulances
to the hospital best suited in the treat
ment of the individual cases. Here We
find the first separation of the pa
tients, as the station has hospitals for
treatment of fever and contagious
cases who never get any farther to the
rear until recovery, a hospital for
those who have broken down under the
strain of fighting to give them a COM
plete rest.
On recovery they are returned to the
front. Hospitals for treatment of med
ical, surgical and convalescent cases
under the supervision of the most COM
petent medical and surgical staff the
Red Cross can secure.
Thus 1t can be seen that specialization
is the keynote of the whole system and
with tho cooperation Of the army sad,
Bed Gross the wounded soldier Is givsa