The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1919-12-19
The PROGRESS
OF PUBLIC WORK
IN GEORGIA

l.
progress in preventive medicine, es-
pecially per dollars spent, during the
past two years than has Georgia.
Up until January the first this year
the legislature was appropriating an
nually, to the State Board of Health,
only thirty thousand five hundred dol
lars. With population of nearly
three million, this amount would en-
able the state board to invest only
about two cents in the health of each
man, women and child in the state.
After this money had been conserva-
lively invested by the board and the
good results Of it were so obvious,
the next legislature appropriated an
additional thirty thousand for the
health department. We will ask you
to Judge for yourself whether the
money has been judiciously handled.
On January LIST, 1919, two new bu-
reaus were established. One for re-
ceiving and recording reports of births
and deaths, known as the department
of Vital Statistics. Never before was
our state able to keep these important
ant records by reason of the lack of
funds for the establishment and main
tenance of this bureau. For a civ
ilized people these records are abso-
lutely indispensable and citizens of
our commonwealth can not be proud
OF the fact that the establishment of
such department was deferred until
this late hour.
Under the Division of Epidemiology
and Rural Sanitation there has been
established eight county departments
o. health under the Ellis Health Law"
since January the first, with full
time Commissioner of Health in Of
flee. This makes a total of fourteen
cities organized under this law. Sew
eral others have had the two nee
essary recommendations and a large
number have had one grand jury rec
ommendation. This, OF course, ena.
bles the state board to do much more
and better work in these counties as
the county board of health is an agen-
cy through which the state depart
ment can and does function in a Civ
en- county; even though the activities
of the state board are not limited to
any number of counties, it is perfect
ly obvious that where a county main
tains health officer he will be con-
stantly on guard for the protection of
the health of the people and when nee
essary will make use Of any addition
al help; such as the U. S. Public
Health Service and the State Board of
Health when such aid is needed.
The archaeological work of this
department has been worth great
deal. A large number of epidemics Of
scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhoid fe-
ver influenza and few cases of cere-
brospinal meningitis and lethargic en-
cephalitis have received the attention
and advice of this department. A
Yast amount of information, as to the
| prevalence and distribution Of certain
communicable diseases has been gath.
cred through the reports which the
physicians make to this bureau.
The Division of Venereal Disease
Control has been doing some most ex-
cellent work, not only in the distribu-
ton of treatment for syphilis, but
three thousand one hundred ninety
eight patients were given institutional
treatment for Venereal Disease, One
thousand four hundred and thirty were
treated outside of clinics. Literature
on the subject of social disease, as
well as the exhibition of slides, pic
ture films, charts, maps, and so on.
MANY lectures on the subject have
been delivered to medical meetings,
Civic and Governmental bodies, Won
ems Clubs and many other organiza-
tions.
The work which has been done by
the laboratory should be known to
/! every citizen Of Georgia. This de-
partment has rendered a service to
the people of the state which far ex-
CeedS in value the total appropria-
t,on tor the whole health board. few.
Of these items we quote below even
though lack of space prevents the use
II many detailed statements. From
January the first to November the
nirst. this laboratory had dispensed:
167,S47 doses of typhoid vaccine val
ued at Csc per dose, total value OF
3I1,962.OO, 23,76S,OOO units of diphthe-
RE antitoxin have been distributed and
actually cost the state board more
than S8,0OO00, 1908 doses of influ.
enza vaccine have been distributed
which were worth at least Csc per dose
or s18,765.75. There were 5,458 Was.
serman blood tests for syphilis made.
These examinations would have cost
the recipients $1,000 per treatment, or
S54,58O.OO, had they been forced to
buy from private laboratories. FIT
teen thousand and ninety bacteriologi.
cal specimen have been examined
which were worth at least one dollar
each, or 100000. By adding these
figures together we see the laboratory
alone has actually rendered service
worth $15O,4S475, during the first
ten months o. the year.
Now we leave it to our readers: is
public health work progressing in
| Caorpiap Does public health work