Middletown transcript., 1919-10-25
BIG RED CROSS
PEACE PROGRAM
New Plans Of Organization
Bring Il 10 Every Person :
and Home In Country.
As IMPORTANT As IN war

Nation Wide Activity For improving
Public Health and Expansion Of its
Nursing Resources Two Objects.
The peace program Of the American
Red Cross has just been made public
and it is gigantic in its scope. 1t 10
50 comprehensive that it will bring
the activities of the organization into
practically every home and into the
life of every person in the country.
The Program.
Foremost will be nationwide &C.
tivity for the promotion Of public
healt,r dd-in-hand with this cru
sade will go vigorous campaign nor
the extension of the cOuntry's nursing
resources; the broadening OF the Hed
Cross Home Service, which In the war
proved so helpful through the assist
ance it was able to give the families
OF soldiers and sailors, to be OF gen.
eral usefulness where other sOclai
agencies are lacking; greatly increas-
ed Junior Red Cross activities; ex-
tension of Red Cross facilities for
emergency disaster relief; completion
Of relief measures for the victims OF
the war in this country and overseas,
and preparation to fulfill whatever
duties may be laid upon it as the vol
unteer relief society officially author
lied to assist the army and navy.
The plan of the Red Cross public
health campaign calls for co-opera-
ton with other existing health pro-
motion and disease prevention organ
izations throughout the United States,
acting by itself where no health
agency now exists, in an effort to
reduce the high mortality due to pre-
ventable disease and to improve gen.
eral health conditions.
The Public Health.
Public health nursing will be one
Of the important features Of this cam.
paign. Red Cross public health
nurses will be assigned to as many
small communities as possible, thus
extending to the rural population the
bedside nursing, school inspection,
classes in hygiene and home nursing
and search for tuberculosis and other
preventable disease that has been so
effective in the cities and larger
towns.
Tx y, ic nj
offer to every woman in America In.
struction in home sanitation, hygiene,
care Of the sick and dietetics, thus
providing first-hand knowledge Of how
to keep the family well and what to
| do where illness or accident cannot be
avoided. These courses are now be.
| ing introduced in the public schools
| and colleges and are offered depart.
ment store employees, factory opera
tives, girl scouts, nursemaids and 9th.
ers, fitting them to help combat infant
and child mortality, malnutrition, un.
sanitary living conditions, preventable
disease and epidemics in their OVID
homes.
The seven thousand public health
nurses in the United States are far
too few to meet the ever-increasine
demands for their services.
Home Service.
Home service among the families OF
American soldiers and sailors has
brought out the important fact that in
80 per cent Of the places where Home
Service is now operating there is no
other social work agency. According
ly there is an imperative demand,
national in scope, that this service
with it's thousands of highly trained
workers., be continued and expanded
to assist all needy families in COM
munities where other neighborly re-
lief is not at hand.
AS always, the Red Cross must hold
itself ready for instant relief service
in time Of public disaster, such as
great fires, floods, cyclones, ship.
wrecks, earthquakes, pestilence, fam.
inc and epidemics. Experience in the
war and the great organization built
up through that emergency will With
quickly available funds make this
branch of Red Cross activity more ef.
fective than ever before.
The Junior Work.
The Junior Red Cross, with its mil
Hons of members in the schools, pub.
! lie and private, throughout the United
States, has laid plans calling for
S5OO,OOO for relief work abroad, this
amount constituting 60 per cent Of the
money the Juniors raise, the remand.
er to be used for local relief in co.
operation with Home Service. It il
also planned to have the Junior mem.
bers supplement and assist in the work
Of the national organization where
ever possible, with especial regard to
the needs Of children.
The turning over to the American
Red Cross Of the surplus medical and
surgical supplies and supplementary
food stores Of the American army
abroad for distribution among the
still suffering native populations, to-
gether with the foreign relief pro-
grams still being carried out largely
in Poland, the Balkans and Sfbefia,
necessitates the continuance of Red
Cross operations oyerseaA - s,