Phoenix tribune., 1921-12-10
Advantages of Prescott
[Continned From PAGE n

IS made are also kept in wards one,
two, four, five and twelve, and in the
nurses quarters, aides quarters, and
maids dormitory. Seventy-four maga-
zines are received each month, the
circulation of which was 217 during
October. Eighteen different daily
papers are received, some of them in
several copies each. The total book
circulation for October was 1856, a
total which indicates the useful func-
tion this department is fulfilling.
The relief work is naturally the
most prominent, as it is the Oldest,
function Of the Red Cross. Our ward
worker has a regular schedule of
visits she makes to the wards housing
bed patients. She is able to visit
each Of these wards three times
week. She finds out from the boys
what services they want performed
which they cannot do themselves.
The bulk of this work consists in
banking and shopping for the men.
She made 543 purchases of articles
during the month of October. Other
errands, such as the sending Of tele-
grams, ETC., totalled 152, this bring
ing the total of individual services
performed up to 92s.
Another phase of the relief work
consists in the making of loans and
grants. We try to limit this in such
way as to discourage thriftlessness
and the attendant ills which result
from dispensation of funds contrary
to the precepts of tried social meth
DDS. II man needs clothing, we
supply his wants, charging the amount
of same to him as loan if we think
he is likely to get compensation even
tually. If his chances of getting COM
pensation seem slight, we charge the
amount off as a grant and give the
man the clothing outright. Under
wear, socks, suits of clothes, sweat
ers, shoes, shirts and caps are the
chief things given as grants. In the
summer this work is slight, but
large number of articles have been
given in the past few weeks of chilly
weather.
The biggest item of our relief work
is, of course, the compensation case
work. One worker interviews each
man as he enters the hospital and
gets all the data relative to his claims.
If the claim has not been settled, or
has been settled in an unsatisfactory
manner to the claimant, we immedi-
ately write to the proper officials
about the case. If death is imminent
or dependents of the claimant are in
want, the case is taken up by wire.
Careful and complete files are kept on
each patient in the hospital. In fact,
officials of the Twelfth District of the
U. S. Veterans Bureau who recently
visited here were able to make a
complete survey of the claims in this
hospital right from our files. The
home service correspondence is car
ried on in connection with the COM
pensation case work. Anxious rela-
tives are advised as to the condition
OF the patient, claims are filed for lost
baggage, applications for state bon
uses are filed. affidavits are notar
lied, and scores of allied services are
performed in this work A report
leaves this office on every man leav.
ing the hospital by death, transfer, or
discharge. These reports go to the
Red Cross in the mans home COM
munity or. in cases of transfer, to the
Red Cross in the new hospital. These
reports give all we know of the mans
difficulties, his prognosis, and the his
| tory of his contact with the Red
Cross. The object is to enable the
Red Cross in the mans new location
to deal intelligently with him and his
problems. Similar reports come to us
in the cases of most men transferred
here from other institutions.
The above sketches roughly the out
lines of our work at this post. There
are many ramifications, but these
have not been touched upon; only a
broad outlook upon our essential
functions has been given.
A. w. McMILLEN,
Director, Red Cross Servire.
Whipple Barracks, Arizona.