The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-01-10
STATE INITIATES
HEALTH DRIVE
FOR CHILDREN
Compulsory Medical Super
vision to be Provided for in
Ohio and Indiana.

NEW YORK, N. ", Jan. 10.-Indi-
ana and Ohio have taken up the chal-
lenge that our national health is men,
aced and are initiating new plans for
health work among children. The
first army draft figures and recent
Investigations into the health of chill
dren show that the vigor Of Americas
youth demands attention. In Ohio the
Health and Old Age Insurance Com
mission and In Indiana the State Con-
ference Of Legislative Committees
have drawn plans for compulsory
health work among children OF school
age, and the National Child Labor
Committee Is cooperating with the
local workers for their adoption. "The
two states are undertaking work of
national Importance in making them
selves the health guardians of their
children" said a representative of the
Committee recently. Constructive and
corrective work for school children is
the very foundation of national health.
The child is unit as we'll as mem
Der OF the community, and the state
cannot stop at public health work. 1t
must make itself responsible as we'll
for the individual development Of its
young citizens"
The object of the two state plans is
similar: to provide a statewide COM
pulsory system of medical supervision
Of school children, with regular physi-
cal examination by physicians at least
annually, follow-up work by nurses,
and health instructions in school. The
Ohio Commission has pointed to the
fact that although children under 5
years constitute only 10 per cent of
the total population, they contribute
from 20 to % per cent of the deaths.
Public Health Nurses.
The seeds OF disease are sown in
early childhood resulting in defects in
the physique of majority of those
who Il" survive More than so per
cent of school children are in need
OF mpdfcnl attention and the - eater
part Of the weaknesses from which
they suffer are correctible. The con-
dition of the children who do not die
is in fact the most serious matter af-
fecting the commonwealth. Conse-
ouently the bill prepared by the Ohio
Commission provides for public health
nurses in every county and city, whose
work shall relate especially to infant
and child care. The two state plans
differ rather in method than in object.
are to be the county and the cities
with over $4,000 population, and
county health commissioner and
county health council will have charge
of all health work in the county. The
work in the cities is to be under the
health department. Medical inspec-
ton is to extend to the physical ex-
animation of children going to work
and to their health supervision in en-
ployment up to II years. The state,
under this plan, would substitute the
county unit, and machinery would be
created that could be supervised by
the state.
In Indiana, on the other hand, the
plan is to provide the county health
unit for public health but to leave
the school work under the district. The
school doctors and nurses are to be
appointed by the Board of Education
and a special tax levied. This method
differs from the Ohio plan. it is point
ed out, by placing the health work
among school children under the edu-
cation instead of the health system,
thus emphasizing the function of
school health work as both corrective
and educative.