The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-05

GIVE UP NURSES
Slacker-Rich Urged to Do So by
Miss Anderson.
1t Is DislOyal Not to Do So, Says
r.. c. Director.
MANY DO NOT REALIZE NEED
Every Available Nurse Should
Be in Service.
Greatest Demand in History
Now Being Met.
MANY DO NOT REALIZE NEE[

Every person in the United States
who keeps a nurse in his home, except
in cases of severe Illness is guilty or
a definite act of disloyalty to his gov
eminent" declared Miss Lydia Ander-
son. director of the nursing work for
the southwest division of the Ameri-
can Red Cross.
: Miss Anderson is in Topeka in the
interest of recruiting nurses for over
seas service. and she has but little
patience with the wealthy Stacker VINO
can afford to pay for a graduated
nurse to play with the children, so
that his women folks will have no
bother with the family.
az do not, know" Miss Anderson
said whether there are any such
persons in your community or not-
they are usually to be found IN every
town where there is any considerapie
amount of wealth. Experts have estl-
mated that one efficient nurse in the
army service abroad is equivalent to
five hundred men in the trenches.
That means that she is able to save
enough lives to make her value equal
to that of 500 fighters
People Do Not Realize.
"The sad part of the situation Is"
MISS Anderson went on, that these
wealthy 1dmll1eS nave ITO iltd TIA L
they are Withholding help that they
owe TO the nation and which they
could render by yielding up the lux
ury of trained nurses in the homes.
The give literally to the Red Cross;
they buy bonds; they give unstinting-
~ of their energies. Always before
nurse could be had when she was
wanted; two three nurses were
available if one had the money to pay
them, and these rich persons are not
able to realize that hitherto the
schools turned out only enough nurses
to meet the civilian need.
Now. with this enormous increase
in a most imperative demand, all
nurses not actually engaged on Sc
rious cases should be released imme-
diately. A plan has been devised
whereby expert nurses can be obtained
for home service during a short time
iN the critical illness of a patient. and
thereafter. the services of girls or
women who have had the benefit of
the home nursing course offered by
the Red Cross are available and 1t is
thought that in milder cases Of ILL.,
ness. the nurses left for home service
can make house-to-house calls as the
physician does. After convalesence
begins any family with the most or
binary intelligence can take care of
its own sick.
Meeting Great Demand.
We are meeting the greatest de
mand on the nursing profession that
has ever been made, and we have as
yet only such trained workers as we
formerly had in peace times to serve
fairly healthy public. 1t is nonsense
for a nurse to be kept in a family fol
convalescent patient for weeks. ant
it is worse than that for the wealth!
members of a community to farm
their children out to hired nurse in
stead of looking after them them
selves. when the world and the natioI
is making the strongest appeal eve
known for the life-saving ministra
tions of trained women to save live
and prevent suffering for thousand
of the nations defenders. The fina
thing for this country to learn i
that the day of all luxury is past un
til the war is won"