The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-01-19

ments .Of The dispensary. n...
ron have kidney trouble 4 = ~
be supposed that you have n.sss
else the matter with you. 49,
eral examination may disclosa 81
er ills that need attention.
The Waiting Li,A
: At IN afternoon clinic ,.s
visited BY the reporter, oysr -
people Of the hard-workins -.
we're waiting for registration, ~
drst treatments.- Some 81 ~
we're obviously suffering, but ~.
continued to sit patiently on . -,
Of hard, wooden seats, a. the -
noon wore on and only 4 thi,S !.
their number had reached 10 ~.
once. In the front ONCE, vNsss
one patient was admitted a 4 ~.
al was confusion. Doctors ~.
In and out, hunting lost rsss,s.
the telephone interrupted 49,
other second. and the young lady
who was attempting to take 49,
the PATIENTS history wore ! d,s.a
expression.
DO you wonder that l ann.
times, get the people mixed 49,
she a4ked YEARLY, as the -.
pointed to five minutes ats n.
clinics closing time, and tho n
cession OF patients still kept =
But to think of them" she "A
ed alphabetically, some Of -
sitting there all afternoon valfi,,
for their turn and now hayIns =
go home without getting am \.
tention at ALL"
The committee has a remedy IN
this evil, also. however. Il
lieyes that this waiting period a
the patients could easily b ~
for educational purposes. Novine
pictures dealing with certain Aeakh
aspects. it says. could be shcvp.
large posters concerning heAlh
matters could be placed on tle
walls of the dispensary, where I'm
could be read from a distance, al
other methods of health educaticn
employed. Dietetic demonstration
it believes, would also be Of great
value in this connection. When
no. in use during clinic hours, ths
dispensary might also be used for
lectures, classes in dietetics, cor.
receive gymnastics and the teach
ing Of hygiene. In other words, II
suggests. the dispensary should
strive to become the health edun-
tonal center of the neighbofhood
In the matter Of fees. the clinics
vary widely. No effort has been
made to standardize charges. Usu,
ally. the charge is very Low, a.
though in some dispensarias IT,
registration fee is as high ~ o.
dollar. Municipal hospitals charge
no fees whatsoever in their out.
patient departments. but payments
are expected in such hospitals for
the maintenance Of patients in he
wards. The committee believes that
a standard charge for treatment, q
we'll as for medicine, dressings and
electricity among all the dispes
saries, would be expedient.
For BENEFIT OF Poor 0nly.
Primarily, Of course. dispenssria
are for the poor. In fact. the New
York law provides that no person
who is able to pay a private ply
stefan can be treated in q dispen-
sary, and the dispensary registrars
are instructed carefully to question
all applicants on this point. lnves-
tigation has shown that only avery
small percentage OF people apply
for dispensary aid when they can
afford to consult a physician, Bot
recently the percentage has shown
= perceptible rise. The knovledgs
that the same specialists vho
charge SO and $50 per visit .
their private Offices are often found
strewing the;a pearls of wisdom
about certain clinics, has led many
persons to pretend excessive pov'
erty during the last two years
A few clinics in New York m.
GLIDING notably the Neurological
institute. are open to the public
upon a sliding scale of charges,
fixed in accordance with each pa
sons income, but the pay clinic Is
a comparatively recent develop.
ment here. Usually it is opposed
on the grounds that it interfefes
with the business Of private pracf,.
TONERS, which the committee mas
regrettable, inasmuch as there heh
urgent need for dispensary uSE
ment among the middle clasoeA
Because he is not rich enough. w
man Of moderate income cannot %
ford private consultations va
high-priced specialists, and becesss
he is not poor enough, he y den'0
their aid in the clinics.
For with all their faults. Is "
public health committee sees tnep.
the dispensaries OF the better "
provide the poor Of our big cipc
with practically the same medl0
aid that the rich receive from prc..
inent specialists. II they can 90
so much under their present pnyr
cal and financial restrictions. DO.
much more could they do With mO, -
money and equipment? And snopi.
they not be open to all who cannO'
afford the services Of specialstss