The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1921-06-24
SPECIAL SERVICES OF
A PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE

-
One of the principal ways in
which a Public Health Nurse may
promote community welfare by CIV
ing special attention to child-welfare
work.
This is work which lays the foun-
dation for better citizenship and
nothing is more important to COM
munity development.
The care of the infant properly be-
gins with the care of the mother be-
fore the baby comes into the world
and a Public Health Nurse shows ex-
pectant mothers just what they
should do to protect the health and
life of their offspring. 1t is also i'm
portant to tell such mothers what is
beneficial to their health and in ad-
dition what is harmful to their own
health as well as to that of their
coming child.
During the months of the moth
er's waiting the Public Health Nurse
gives invaluable education to moth
ers; when the baby is born she may
also give actual bedside care to the
mother and little later she may
show her how to care for her little
one intelligently. Unfortunately the
mere being a mother does not carry
with it knowledge of being GOOD
mother and protecting the child's
health and life.
The Public Health Nurse helps
mothers to understand the impor-
lance of caring for the baby's eyes;
of giving it bath each day, of regu-
lating its times of feeding, it's sleep,
its health habits and the sort of food
it should have If the mother is un-
able to nourish it herself. She also
instructs the mother in preparing the
most comfortable and sanitary cloth
ing for the little one and of kind
that will be the most helpful to her
and the least trouble to care for.
A Public Health Nurse should al
ways be in attendance at infant well
fare stations or baby clinics, and help
the physician by weighing the babies
and reporting to him their general
condition while she explains to the
mother the best way to follow the
directions given by the doctors, and
she explains also the need for birth
registration and it's Importance in
helping the State keep records of in
FAINT mortality, as well as other nec-
e5sary information.
But Public Health Nurse does not
confine her work to babies ;children of
pre-school and school age also claim
her attention and interest and her
work for the young people of the
community is such that they are CIV
en- every opportunity to develop into
strong, healthy citizens.
The work of the Public Health
Nurse in the schools is considered
one of her most valuable contribu-
tions to community betterment and
in many cities a full corps Of nurses
is employed for this work alone, and
it's Importance is indicated by the
fact that of the 22,000,000 school
children in the United States some
100000 were found to be in need
of attention to correct some physical
defect OF this number it was esti-
mated that only 20 per cent of the
defects were corrected without the
aid of the Public Health Nurse in the
homes, while with the Public Health
Nurses help 80 per cent were given
necessary attention.
Red Cross chapters througout the
country are supplying many Public
Health Nurses and the work with
school children, younger children
and babies are considered one of the
most important services performed
for any community.-Contributed by
the Der artment of Nursing, Southern
Division, American Red Cross.
Whitesell Harpole. local Reg
istrar of Vital Statistics, reports the