Evening star., 1921-04-17

twenty years ago to be exact, a
small group of Washington women
thought that the city would be the
better for the services of visiting
nurse, such as other cities already
had in varying numbers. They there
upon got together and employed one
for the ensuing three summer months
The field for such work was imme-
diately found to be far more extended
than its sponsors had even dreamed.
They enlarged their efforts and their
contributions and the result is the In
structive Visiting Nurse Society OF
Washington. with a trained staff OF
eighteen graduate nurses and an ar
dent desire to employ twice that
many. Fulfllment Of that wish de-
pends on the city's willingness to re-
spond to the first big campaign for
funds ever staged by the society. to
begin April "a. and last one week, and
arranged almost coincidently with the
twentieth anniversary Of the society
Laudable Purpose.
ITO provide trained nurses to visit
and care for such persons as cannot
or ought not to be sent to hospitals
and who are otherwise unable to Sc
cure skilled attendance: to teach
proper care Of the sick, and to In
culcate the principles of simple san
itation," is the phraseology used IN
the constitution adopted. following
the signing Of the certificate Of in
corporation in April. 1900, the in
corporators being Emily Tuckerman'
Mary w. c. Bayard and Anne A Will
son.
II ever the title Of an organization
was descriptive thereof 1t is that OF
the 'I. v. N. S.," as it is styled. for
short. It visits, it nurses and it in
structs. About two-thirds of its pa
tients are nursed free Of charge. Many
others pay what they can, and some
the actual cost of the visit. How do
they do It? Without going now into
description of how they have done
it, which is an interesting and inspir-
ing story, the answer is that to keep on
with the work 1t has become necessary
for the community to recognize more
fully and to help support the society.
For two decades it has been self-sup-
porting-that is. it received its sup
port from limited and fixed sources.
No longer is it possible to keep on that
way, however, so, standing on the rec
ord of it's services to the community
during the past. 1T is asking for
$50 900, and confidently hopes to get it.
Reasons for Campaign.
This seems lot of money. 1t is,
and the society plans to do lot with
1t. There are several reasons why 1t
needs so much in the way of public
support. The first is that up till now
1t has never had any at all. Another
is that the cost Of maintenance has In
creased alarmingly during the last few
years, and another is that the organiza-
ton wants to expand. Frequent calls
are made on it to which it cannot pos
need. The Il. v. N. S." has the ma
chinery. The public has the money. to
serve a. fuel. More adequate salaries
should be paid the nurses. who. In spite
Of cold and sleet and rain and wind and
summers broiling heat, faithfully at
tend t:.eir patients Additional ONCE
room is urgently needed, as well as
more technical books and magazines
for study and reference.
This efficient health agency "cov-
ers" the entire city. Its nurses work
under rules as rigid as those OF any
sense, the hospital and its nine nurs-
ing districts are the wards. Their
work supplements but never dupli-
Gates or interferes with the work of
either hospitals or doctors. for when
society promptly refers him or her to
one. while among the first rules
taught new nurse is that she shall
not remain on a case unless a doctor
is in attendance.
32.A16 Visits in Year.
Some idea of the work done by the
two supervisors and fifteen graduate
nurses, two of them maternity
that in 1895 the members made a..
416 visits. The patients represent all
ferent nationalitieA A preponder-
ance Of them were female and they
were divided nearly equally between
colored and white.
=, The first great test Of the II. v.
weeks it made itself solid" with
many a family which, up to that
time. had never heard Of it. The
city was crowded as never before.
Great as the toll Of death here was,
no one will ever know what it might
have been II these nurses had not
been ~on the job"
Red Cross Recognises work.
BY tho time Of the first recur-
renoe Of the -ffu" in 1919. the Red
Cross gave recognition OF the record
the II. v: N. s." had made BY as
signing fifteen Army nurses. released
from cantonments and equipped with
three motor cars to work under
the direction Of the society That
experience, with the added nurses and
motor facilities. gave the society a
taste Of what it could do with an
enlarged force, and served to re-
double the determination Of its man
ayers to expand in the near future
Various types of nursing have
been added from time to time, one Of
tho most interesting being the ma
ternity service. conducted by two
nurses trained 6pecially along that
line, who visit homes before, during
and after the stork's visit. Last
year they assisted at 113 births and
gave care and instruction to 46s
mothers or expectant mothers. Not
ono Of these mothers was lost.
TubercuIar Children Cared Far.
In addition to its strictly nursing
services the society takes olrsrEe Of
the children at the Red Cross day
CAMP maintained by the Anti.Tuhar-