New-York tribune., 1920-02-01

do. Every center has added emergency
workers to its staff
In the course of their work last year
the nurses of the staff of the VISITING
Nurse Association took care of $4,000
patients and paid 275,OO0 visits. The
records of 1920 will be much larger il
IS pcileved. because of the vast amount
OF work being done in the epidemic.
Among those cooperating with the
visiting nurses is the Red Cross. From
Its many sources, its personnel. its
motor. and ambulance service, it has
sent help. The settlements and the
agencies represented in the Nurses
Emergency Council are doing their
part.
All kinds of supplies, food, sick-room
facilities are needed Many of the
nurses will have to be paid from vol
unteer contributions and consequently
the service is greatly in need of funds.
he variety of things that have to be
attended to by each nurse is shown in
some of the little stories they tell Of
their cases" Last week call came
in at o'clock one afternoon. All of
the nurses were out, but one was
finally reached and sent to the home.
There she found the entire household
sick in bed. There was a new baby in
the family. Measles, pneumonia and
influenza had stricken the children Of
school age and the father.
On this case the first THING to be
done after immediate care of the baby
and mother, was the gathering of sew
eral weeks laundry, disinfecting it and
sending it out. Beds then were made
on chairs and the different diseases
segregated. All Of the patients were
bathed The mothers hair was knotted
and matted from days of disorder. Re
member, these were respectable and
normally clean peophe. The father was
in most desperate condition and had to
have alcohol rubs and medication.
The business of cleaning and straight
ening up finished, the nurse then had to
get food and prepare meals for the
found who could attend the sick for the
night. Days of care and nursing on
the part of the visiting nurse have put
this family on the road to recovery.
Another call that is told of is that to
Norwegian family. The nurse raped
at the door and rang the bell for tif-
teen minutes before she was admitted
The door was opened by the man Of the
family, who had bad case of pneu-
monia, and had risen from his bed to
admit her. The door had been locked
because the mother. sick though she
was with the influenza, had not wanted
to come in and see how dis
orderly the house was.
Doctor Gets Surprise
The nurse soon remedied the mothers |
cause of embarrassment and attended
the needs of the four sick persons all
shut up in one room A night nurse
was left. and when the doctor came tho
next day he said that he would not
have recognized the place.
Every evenings report shows many
cases as destitute as and even more so
than these. The nurses are holding the
line and with cooperation and help will
be able to drive back the enemy
Miss Anne Goodrich, head Of the
visiting nurse service Of the Henry
Street Settlement is the officer in COM
mand of this army of women. Her as
sociate is Rebecca Shatz.
"These nurses are almost exalted
women" said Miss Lillian D. Wald, in
expressing her admiration of the work
of the visiting nurses. "They are an
inspiration to all watching their un-
tiring service"
Miss Wa'd is chairman of the
Nurses Emergency Council, with which
the Henry Street service is function