Evening star., 1920-04-25
|SHOWS WORK DONE
FOR CHILD WELFARE
Dr.. Harry S. Bernton Reports
D. C. Society's Activities
for the Year 1919.

The year 1919 was marked by the
| largest volume of work in the history
| of the Child Welfare Society of wash
ington, d. c.. and attests the In
! dustry, zeal and devotion alike of it's
members and it's agents. according
to the report of the director, Dr.
Harry S. Bernton. contained in the
/ recently issued seventh annual re-
port on the infant welfare centers and
| prenatal work of the organization
| for the year ending December 81 last.
| This society. formerly known as the
! Washington Diet Kitchen Association.
=, has for it's object the preservation and
proper development of child life and
! the education of parents. 1t CO.
| operates with all national and local
] agencies interested in the welfare OF
| the child, and maintains eight child
| welfare centers in the different sec
| tions of the National Capital.
Report on Co-Operation.
| The extent of the cooperation with
| the various welfare agencies is in
| dicated. Director Bernton points out.
by the fact that no fewer than 460 in
| fants were referred to the society by
the District health department; 242
| by the Instructive Visiting Nurse So
ciety. and sixty-five by the American
| Red Cross, with a total of more than
thirty by other public and private
| agencies
| TIE number of visits made to the
| eight canters totaled 20.411, exceed
| ing that of the previous year by
| 3.462. Desirable as are these visits,
| the fact is given emphasis in the re-
port that the follow-up work by the
portance. This staff. which is COM
posed of one supervising nurse,
eleven graduate nurses and one
matron. made 2s.642 visits during the
year. or 9,417 more than in 1918. AL
together the organization cared for
4,199 individuals during the year.
| The society pays special attention
to prenatal care of the child, and in
order to bring this care within easier
| reach. clinics have been opened in
the northeast and southeast sections
| in addition to the northwest section.
| The report on the finances of the
| organization shows a balance on hand
| the first day Of the present year of
| $4.199.60. The total receipts were
sSO.S92.99. and the total expenditures
were s26,693.3e.
! Society Established In 1901.
The Child Welfare Society was es-
] tablished in 1901 and incorporated in
1914. Its president is Miss Mary
| Gwynn and it's vice president, Mrs
| Thomas r. Marshall. Mrs. David F.
Houston is the second vice president
Mrs. William A. Hammond is secre-
| tary and Mrs. Lewis c. Ecker is
| treasurer. The rosters of the board
of managers and of the junior aux
iliary include the names of many
| women prominent i'll official life and
in local philanthropic and social cir
| cles. Miss Emma l.. Gallagher is sec
! retary of the executive staff, while
Miss Helen Boyle is supervisor of the
| nursing staff.
| A staff of Washington physicians OF
prominence donate their time for ad-
vice and examinations. For sub
normal children leading specialists
| contribute their time and skill in
| diagnosis. In addition to the medical
! staff there is a national advisory
committee composed of some of the
country's leading medical authorities