The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-01
Army Asks Soldiers Wives to Be Nurses
Surgeon General
Gorgas Tells of
Growing Need for
Hospital Assistants

tional uniforms as are required curing
their service in the hospitals. A monthly
allowance of $l5 will be provided by the
Government, which means that the hos
pital assistants are to get real soldiers
pay.
There is to be no obligation on the part
of the hospital assistant to remain IN the
service longer than she desires. She may
leave at any time There is to be chance
for advancement and special courses of IN
struction in elementary nursing and ny
giene will be given.
Commenting on the need of additional
woman power, Surgeon-Gen. Gorgas sand:
ut has become apparent that with the
enlarged plans of the army an adequate
supply of graduate nurses TO cover the
entire needs cannot be obtained without
seriously interfering with the operation OF
civil hospitaIs-sad public health work.
Consequently steps have been taken to
supplement the supply of graduate
nurses.
Will Need $4,000 by July l, 1919.
at is estimated that 10000 women will
be needed by July l, 1919, to assist in the
care of the sick and wounded. The vast
majority of these must be trained nurses
and available for service overseas. To
supplement the supply of graduate nurses
two measures have been adopted.
First, the establishment of the Army
School of Nursing, which offers TO any
young woman, physically fit, between the
ages of q and IS, unmarried and pos
sessing the educational equivalent Of a
high school education, the opportunity OF
assisting in the care of the sick under
system of instruction which will make her
services increasingly valuable and at the
same time give her a tHining which will
lead to diploma in nursing. The pupils
Of the army school will be sent abroad as
soon as the need arises.
"fSecond, hospital assistants will be util-
lied in the hospitals in the United States,
where the convalescent sick and wounded
from overseas will be cared for. Men,
hers of this group will assist in the care
of the sick They will not be given a
thorough course of training, but will be
given enough training to make them val
liable assistants.
"Fully $4,000 women can be used TO
great advantage as student nurses or as
hospital assistants.
GAN, whether pupils or hospital as
sistants, will be enrolled in the Army
School of Nursing.
at is confidently expected that this
plan of providing graduate nurses, pupil
nurses and hospital assistants will ade-
quately safeguard the care of the sick and
wounded. 1t offers splendid opportu-
nifty for service to the women of the coun-
try, an opportunity which we believe is
urgently desired"
The Surgeon-General has charge of the
care of the sick and wounded in the army,
both here and abroad.
Not Really Under the Red Gross.
Owing to the splendid work which the
Red Cross has done, there is a nation
wide impression that the Red Cross has
charge of the care of the wounded, or at
least renders much assistance in this re-
spect. The army nurses who care for our
men wear Red Cross badge, but that is
the insignia of the hospital service in all
countries excepting Turkey, where it is
the red crescent), and it does not mean the
Red Cross Society.
The work of the Red Cross is to sup
plement the work Of the Army Medical
Corps, to act as recruiting agency for
army nurses, to help the civilian popula
tons, &C. The Red Cross has recruited
thousands of nurses, but as soon as they
are ready for service they are turned over
to the Army Medical Department and
cease to be identified with the Red Cross.
There are now two Red Cross hospitals
in France, and they are doing splendid
work, but this is, of course, only a very
small part of the nursing being done by
the army. When the Red Cross happens
TO he in a position to relieve the Army