The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1920-11-11
HEALTH TALK
BY COUNTY NURSE
Summary OF Work In Examination OF
School Children

Judge Gary recently said. Accident
prevention is not onlH good morals
and good ethics but also good bust
ness" Safety is, in the mind OF the
Commercial world, a common sense
proposition, and is a dire national me-
cessity.
The Public Health Nursing Organ
~ization supported by County Commits
%sioners, Red Cross Seal Commission
and National Red Cross, is carrying
out a program along educational lines
through the County Nurse, reaching
the County Schools all over the coun-
~.
Preventative work is one OF the
greatest assets of our country. The
school work in Hand County started
che year ago under rather unfavorable
circumstances. 1t was a new thing In
a very conservative county. After q
lew talks and arguments relative to q
County Public Health Nurses work;
started out with short talks to the
school children, impressing OF them
the necessity of the care Of the teeth
and urging each child to provide HIM
self with a tooth brush. Room or
school inspection followed. Children
were weighed and measured for NAL
nutrition. At first great caution was
used in the examination. 1t val dis
c~ouraging to find when the inspection
CT a school was over that every child
examined practically had defective
teeth.
This year the County Nurses work
in the schools began ar the opening
of the term. Since the week of the
goth of September S37 pupils were ex-
amined. Out of that number 121 were
found physically perfect. "a out of
363 pupils examined In Miller Town
ship. including Miller Public School.
were found to have no physical de-
fects. IA out OF 102 pupils examined
at Rec Heights Public School were
found physically perfect. 35 out OF
143 examined 1t st. Lawrence Public
School without defects. Last year the
same defects were found with very
little Improvement.
AS the work continues day ~afteT-d ay
examining defective teeth, eyes, ears.
throat and nose, and doing nothing to
help these conditions. I felt there must
be a way out of this difficulty. That
way was opened to the public last
week, at quite a little trouble and ex-
pense to those who had an interest In
the welfare of the people. The pro-
position was a County Hospital, main
tanned by the County, at an addition
al tax rate of probably a dollar a year
or t~hereabout, but through mis-infor-
nation or a misunderstanding was
voted down.
A dental chair in a County Hospital.
supported by the Red Cross or the
County would help this condition. A
room where clinics could be held and
physical examinations and profession
al advice given free; such is found In
every county hospital.
35 per cent of our draft men failed
to pass the first military examination
Approximately 1914 per cent of the
enlisted men examined In South Dako-
ia were found physically unfit for mil
itary service. This should drive home
the lesson that in the development OF
country life the protection OF health
comes first.
The physical defects Of school chill
dren referred { o could easily have
been prevented and can now be cor
rected. The County Public Health
nurse is in her office all day Saturday.
We want every mother in Hand coun-
ty to feel that she can come to the
nurse for help and advise at any time.
Office in Hand County State Bank
Building.
Miss Mary A. Curley,
County Nurse.