Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1920-12-01

Marion county court, will Saturda,
afternoon decide question which
xviii mean much to the future gen
erations OF Marion county.
He will probably decide whether
4 ~ not Marion county will retair
Miss Lillian Godsey as public
health nurse. Miss Godsey hal
1been conducting public health worl
In Marion county for the past tnre'
Hnonths at the expense OF the ore
ION Tuberculosis society. her tern
~ ..probation" expiring November
zS. II Judge Bushey decides agains
Hhe project which was started bs
fhe society to promote better healtf
among school children her worF
will be discontinued, and It Is prob
able that the monthly baby ciin
fcs,, which have been held at the
commercial club will be given VI
ny the organization promotins
Ehem.
The question which will DC
brought before Judge Busney, one
which he is supposedly permitted
NV the legislature to settle, Is one
III interest to every family in Mar
son county. The public health nurse
making her calls at the various
schools. visiting homes OF pupils
and caring for the children OF the
county Is considered by the physi-
\ .scians OF. this city, the child welfare
Feague. the elparent-teachers associa-
tfon and the school heads as one
Af the most important factors ~
furtherance Of public health.
274 Babies Die Daily.
According to bulletin issued by
che United states department of la
nor 100. 900 babies die .needlessly
yearly. making daily average OF
174 babies dying because OF I'M
proper care. The government pui-
Ietir, describes them as KILLED by
fher mothers or their grandmoth-
.ssrs. or sisters, who loved them very
much" but did not understand
their care.
Al public health nurse, operating
under pay by the county would pc
Ill readiness to see that puzzled
ruothers were enlightened in the
care OF children and assistance CIV
on mothers who make known their
difficulties. That the mothers OF
che county appreciate the clinics
which are held was amply demon
sstrated yesterday at the baby clinic
I1eld here, which was attended py
more than half a hundred mothers
xsho brought not only one child for
~sxanaination, but their entire faml-
Hies. .r
N Into the Schools.
s.Health is habit and can be
faught,'' is the slogan OF the public
Faeaith workers. The educational
work OF infant welfare organiza-
Hfons is but one aspect of the work
~ the public health nurse. Even
vwhen the child has grown and en-
tered school the health is still
Ys1atter Of grave concern. Another
SEovernemnt bulletin states:
"Defects Of eyesight and hearing
sTecay OF the teeth, tonsil and ade-
mold growths may develop and
cause diseases, easily checked in
4 time. but serious if permitted to
rrun their course" 1t Is the public
meath nurse who finds these de-
Kects, and, who follows the child
from the school to its home and ar
ranges with the parents for neces-
Sary hygienic and medical treat
xnent.
The child welfare league of this
city has arranged that If Miss God
ssey is retained by the county, ac-
<sonmodations will be made to care
fAr operations and ouch which'are
needed by children whose parents
are unable to pay.
Adults Arc Benefited.
In cases Of communicable dis
eases developing in the community
1T is the public health nurse who
4 goes to the home and teaches pre-
cautions to prevent the spread OF
\ infection to other members OF the
Family.
The nurse is the central figure In
! modern, healthy community. Lo-
seally It Is planned by Miss Godsey
sRnd various organizations to carry
en- a campaign through the schools
IN the training OF tne individual in
the laws of hygiene and public san
station, and 1t is the nurse who
Brings the laws of health to the fac
rory and tenement dwellings where
they must be applied. The people
of Marion county would not be
adopting q blue sky" project in
(. approving the installation of a pub
Iic nurse, but would be approving q
project which has nationally been
tried and found OF benefit to COM
munities, 1t might even be claim
ed that public nursing is universal
Knasmuch as it was systematized in
I, the little monarchies of the eastern
hemisphere long before adopted in
America.
Three months ago, Miss Godsey
was sent to Marion county by the
Oregon Tuberculosis association to
institute public nursing, Her work
has been directly under the super
vision OF that association and she
mas been able to devote serious en-
ergy to the public work in schools
Her work has carried her into all
parts of the county and her work
has been proclaimed a success by
the school heads heads OF health
organizations. the teachers lnsti'
fute, the parent-teachers' club, the
child welfare league, and endorsed
by the leading physicians of the
city.
Even in the face of the sincere
Godsey has asked only a smalloca.t I