The Monroe journal., 1922-10-27
MISS EHRENFIELD TELLS
DUTIES OF HEALTH NURSE
Miss Farmer Is to Work Especially
Among Mothers and School Chill
dren of the County
WILL SEEk TO LOWER THE
DEATH RATE AMONG BABIES
Red Cross, County Commissioners
and Board of Education are Join
ing Together in Support of Public
Health Nurse: Her Work to Supple
ment Care of Physician

healtn nurse. her NOrk 10 supple
ment Care of Physician
A long felt need, a crusade for
good health, and enough enthusiasm
to start the movement, has been the
means of procuring public health
nurse for Union county by the local
Red Cross chapter. This movement
recently undertaken, has the hearty
cooperation of the various civic or
ganizations and Miss Farmer, the
new heal.h rirSe for this county, is
ready to stare on her campaign of
organizing and educating the public
to a greater need for health, and ways
and methods of keeping physically
fit. Because of the doubt about Just
what would constitute her duties,
Miss Ehrenfeld, representing state
health department, came down from
Raleigh and talked at the chamber
of commerce rooms yesterday af-
ternoon to a group of people, rep
resentatives Of the Red Cross, Ameri-
can Legion, Auxiliary OF the Ameri-
can Legion, county board of educa-
ton, board OF county commissioners
board Of allarmen, physicians and
ministers OF The county. She explain
ed the need for peace time program
for the Red Cross that would supple
ment the work of the official health
department. Also that the national
Red Cross is emphasizing public
health nursing as peace time ac-
tivity to meet local health needs and
the state health department had a
plan of cooperating between the
county and state, placing the mat
ter Of the public nurse in the hands
of the Red Cross. There were four
items OF the work of Miss Farmer
that were taken up for discussion by
Miss Ehrenfed. The first was the
home conference with the mother.
She gave some startling and appall-
ing facts about the death rate of ba-
bies in our county from causes pro-
baby antedating birth and which
were possibly preventive. Last year
in this county there were lis deaths
of babies under two years of age, 80
of this number being under one year.
In order TO cope with this situa-
ton, Miss Farmer will instruct the
expectant mother through a home
conference how to safeguard her own
welfare as well as that of the un-
born child; the precautions to take
at birth; to care for the baby; the
proper environment, etc. She will
investigate the status of the mid
wives in the county, see that the
births are properly recorded and that
the proper medical supervision is sup
Piled. Such information is not a
substitute for, but intended to sup
plement the advice of the physician.
Miss Farmer will work in co-opera-
tion with the local doctors and the
medica! profession of the county
The second item discussed was the
course of instruction on home hy-
giene and care of the sick. In these
lessons, Miss Farmer will have
classes among the juniors and sem
iors in the schools of the county.
Il would be utterly impossible
for her to give bedside care
personally to all the sick, so
in these classes which she will or
ganize Throughout the county, she
will give practical courses of instruc-
tion to the girls on home hygiene,
preventive methods, and care OF the
sick in their homes, whereby they
will be able to more ntelligentlv CO.
operate with family physician in case
of illness.
One Of the most important phases
of her work, will be the third item,
taken up by Miss Ehrenfeld and that
was her course on baby care for
young girls, teaching them how to
keep well babies well and preparing
them 10 become better home makers.
In this extensive field, they will be
taught how to assist in caring for
the younger members of the family;
how to keep well babies well and that
sick children should be under the
care of medical men.
The fourth item was the modern
health movement in the schools. This
is a crusade put on to encourage
school children to daily practically
apply health teachings, to follow
the rules of the health game and to
early establish good health habits,
upon which their scholastic progress
is dependent.
This fu amentally important
health program is planned to reach
the entire county and the subject
Of organizing the Red Cross roll call
to secure membership was also dis
cuSsed because percentage of en-
membership is depended
upon to provide car s. that every
school and district of the county can
be reached ly the nurse.