Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-06-24

I crate preparations to receive son returning
| from war. He was to be treated as hero.
| But when Juan got off the train, he seemed
not to understand what it was all about, ana
even failed to recognize some of his friends
| He was mentally der1nged.
No less than 1900 "psychopathic cases
have been reported as occurring in thu
American eXpeditionary force. This includes
| all kinds of insani Y and nervous atfllctIOn,
| from outright mania down to some obscure
effect of shell shock which may have robbed
a man of his efficiency without notiCeably af-
! fecting his general health and conduct.
Of these sufferers only a very all per-
! centage have as yet beeh given med cal care
in this country. Som of them, of course are
still in Europe. But thousands of them must
! be at their homes or elsewhere in this cOun-
| try, and many of these are in need OF the eX-
pert medical attention which the Public
! Health Service can give them. 1t asks that
| they make themselves known, or that rela-
! tives and friends report these cases to the
| district supervisor or to some 9th repre-
sentative of the Public Health Service.
When the armistice was signed, the Public
Health Service had only the little string Of
hospitals which it has maintained for years
| for the care Of sailors in the merchant ma
rine and certain government employees. 1t
was then confronted with the task of caring
| for all the discharged soldiers and sailors
| who were suffering from injuries or illnesses
contracted while in service. AS long a
man is in the service, he is under the care
| of the surgeon general CT the army or navy,
but as soon he is discharge, the Public
Health Service is his doctor.
Congress, with it's usual tortoise-like speed,
did not get around to making provision for
enlarging the hospital facilities of the Pub
! lie Health Service until about three months
! ago. On March 3, lat it passed a bill pro-
viding money for the building of new hos
pitfalls, and also giving the Public Health
Service certain buildings, sites and equip
ment
Ever since then Surgeon General Stinson
and his assistants have been busily Organiz-
ing the system which is just now going into
action. They have divided the United States
into fourteen districts with a public health
official in charge of each district There IS
an assistant supervisor in each state, and a
representative in each city and town. Hos
pitfalls are being built, rented and equipped
as rapidly as possible. There will be five or
six large tuberCular hospitals owned and
operated by the government. Insane cases
will be cared for in state institutions when
ever possible, but three government hospitals
are being built for psychopathic cases. One
at Waukesha, Wis, which will be opened in
few weeks, is devoted entirely to cases suf-
fering from nervous complaints At DAN
vile, N. Y, sanatorium for insane cases
who cannot be cared or in their home states
is being built. special hospital for epiep-
| tics is being built at East Norfolk. Mass
These institutions are to be models of their
hlnu' LedulHS men IN these medical lines
Will be called to them, and it is expected
that they will afford an opportunity for
much valuable study of mental and nervous
diseases.
The fourteen districts into which this
great hospital and medical service is divid-
ed are just now being organized. Not all of
the supervisors have yet been appointed, but
most of them have. The duty of these dis
trict offices Of the Public Health Service will
be, first to pass upon the health of appli-
cants for compensation to the bureau of war
risk insurance. and second, to provide hos
pital care for discharged service men. Every
discharged soldier who is in need of medical
attention as a result of injuries or sickness
contracted in the service, should avail himself
of this opportunity. This medical care is a
part of what the nation owes the soldier for
his services, and it is of the utmost import
ance to the nation as whole that the dam
age done by war to its manpower should be
repaired as far as possible.