The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-08-07
PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE SAYS
ARDMORE PEOPLE ARE FAILING
TO COOPERATE IN HER WORK

Miss Olive Conn, public health nurse,
In an address made recently at the
First Christian church, ON living ana
health conditions In Ardmore, appealed
10 the citizens TO make Ardmore what
II should be, a clean and healthy place
IN which 10 live.
"Ardmore needs detention camp for
venereal patients; Ardmore needs a
county and city hospital, where the poor
may receive proper attention free OF
charge; Ardmore needs the attention Of
her citizens along public health lines,
Tor she has outgrown her country town
stage and Is now a real city" so stated
Miss Conn la mentioning some Of the
real necessities the citizens should pro.
vide FOR the people
Miss Conn gave some startling facts
concerning living conditions In Ardmore,
and the manner in which families OF
the poor must live.
Women receive the lowest scale OF
wages for the hardest and most diff.
cult tasks" Miss Conn stated. II have
In mind one woman who works FOR 81 a
week. Her hours are from 5 o'clock In
the morning until 4 o'clock In the even,
ing. She sometimes cooks for as many
as 10 people. Another woman works
for $3.50 per week and her room ANA
board; another woman works for 81
per day from q o'clock a. m. until
o'clock p. m. another, who receives IS
per week, working from o'clock a, m,
until o'clock p. m, pays 81 per week
for a home for herself and children. Most
Of the rent homes take from SO to Sl5
per month, or SO per week. This makes
an average of cents per hour for wom-
ems wages, and men every day refuse
Jobs that pay as much as 30 cents per
hour. nor do they have to do the family
washing nor care for the children when
they return home in the evening.
I'VE know cases where men work in
other towns. leaving their families here
for Ardmore to look after and feed.
Why does Ardmore stand for that? We
have sufficient number of women
and children to look after who do not
have men 10 work for them. nd there.
fore we should not be forced, by other
towns, to look after the wives and chill
dren OF men who work at those places.
Finds Housing Conditions Poor
"The housing conditions found in Ard
more are very. very poor" continued
Miss Conn. There are any number OF
rent houses where they do not even
have windows in other houses the pa
per is hanging in shreds, such large
holes in the floor one can see the
ground roofing so bad that the furni-
ture must be moved here and there
when it rains; screens very poor; sew
erage conditions are also very bad in
the majority of homes; in many cases
where there is a bathtub, without sew.
erage connection, the sewerage connec-
tons are bad, endangering the lives of
the occupants by escaping sewer gas.
The city jail, county Jail, pest house, are
all In poor condition. Any number of
poor children in the city cannot attend
Sunday school or schools, for lack of
clothing.
"One of the most important activities
Of the public health nurse is to safe
guard the health of the babies. We in
struct the mothers in regard to right
kind of clothes babies need. the proper
beds, the bath, amount of sleep and
nourishment they should receive, but
L will have to confess that | have not
been able to do anything worth mention
ing in regard to infant welfare work
in Ardmore. | only succeeded in find
ing birth records last week, and only
one doctor has taken me to the home of
new babies. In fact, only three doctors
have ever taken me to see their pa
tients.
"In the United States 800 900 babies,
under the age of one year, die yearly.
In order that Ardmore contribute her
part in preventing this terrible state
of affairs, we should have a room equip.
ped with scales, measuring board
clothes, bottles, measuring glasses,
stove, etc, where milk modification can
be taught, and a physician in charge
who loves babies. and a way to get the
mothers and babies to come to the
room for help and advice. In this con
nection l will say that Miss Swaine, our
field nurse from the State tuberculosis
Association, will be in Ardmore next