Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1922-09-21
BY JAMES p. HoRNAoAY

- ~NNtG1 f1OnNAOA1
Washington.-The two first Red
Cross nurses to engage in mission
airy form of service provided for In
the viii of the late Jane A. Delano,
who died In France while director of
the nursing service of the American
Red Cross, have been detailed for duty
in Alaska and in the Islands Off the
Maine coast. Miss Bertha b. Sleeves.
formerly superintendent of the Ottawa
(Can.) hospital, and long in nursing
and settlement work, has been select
ed for the Alaskan field. Miss Stella
Fuller, graduate of the Milwaukee
training school. who served with the
A r. Q. in France during the war.
takes up the work in Maine
The conditions of the bequest re-
quire that the nurses selected be so
situated that demands of dependents
Will not interfere with their work In
addition to being enrolled Red Cross
nurses, candidates for the distinction
must have had two years experience
In public health nursing, be qualified
to teach, and be not less than thirty
years old. Miss Delano's purpose in
endowlng this special service as me-
mortal to her father and mother was
to create nursing facilities in isolated
districts where no funds are available
from governmental or other agencies
or from individuals. The Delano
nurses will be under the supervision
of the American Red Cross.
memorial in recognition of the
achievements of Miss Delano Ia the
form of monument is to be erected
by popular subscription on the grounds
of the Red Cross national headquar-
tiers in Washington at a cost of $50, 900
Ii will stand as a shrine commemorate
Ing not only Miss Delano, but all Amer
lean nurses who responded to the call
of their country in the World war.
To Improve Health of Indians.
In order to test the feasibility OF
public health nursing and general well
fare work on the Indian reservations,
the Red Cross IS inaugurating a sur
vey in the Navajo. Pima and Popago
and other reservations in Arizona, New
AhCAANO anu 0Oulil OdhOld. 1nlS WOTk
is being done at the request of Charles
H. Burke, United States commissioner
of Indian affairs, and Will cover one
year.
Mr.. Burke, having in view the i'm
provement of health conditions among
the Indians and demonstration of or.
ganized service among the various
tribes to prove whether 1t is possible
to instruct Indian mothers particularly
In health methods, urgently requested
that the Red Cross assign trained per.
sonnet to the task.
81 am very solicitous to get into
the Indian service some young women
trained for welfare work" said Mr..
Burke. II know what the American
Red Cross has done in encouraging
the counties in the various states to
employ county nurses. l am sure II
we have some cooperative assistance
1t will show that 1t is possible great
ly to improve health conditions on the
reservations"
Three Red Cross nurses have been
assigned to the survey and the Ameri-
can Red Cross has appropriated $4,000
to cover their salaries and expenses.
the government furnishing only quar-.
ters and transportation within each
reservation. The superintendent OF
the Indian reservations, according to
Mr.. Burke. are keenly interested In the
health survey and offered the fullest
cooperation with the nurses. The prog.
ress of the work will be reported
from time to time and at the end of
the survey an exhaustive report of the
findings will be submitted.
May Solve Reservation Problems.
Commissioner Burke, who has CO.
operated closely with the public health
nursing director at Red Cross national
headquarters, has every confidence
that this survey win result in a con
structive work that will prove of great
value to the Indians and also In solv.
ing some of the reservation problems
relating TO health and sanitation.
The Red Cross has practically COM
pleted the after-the-war reimbursement
which was started more than a year
ago. IL is now out or Europe except
where 1t is assisting in the task of
feeding starving women and children.
From this time on its energies are TO
be devoted to helpful work in COM
munities in the United States where its
assistance is most needed. The ques-
ton has been raised as to how much
1t should undertake along the line of
medical activities. Naturally the pub
lie health service feels that this par
ticular field belongs to it. The men
who are working on the problem OF
reorganization of the administrative
branches of the government have no
authority over the Red Cross, it is |
pointed out, but they are on the look
out for such duplication of work as
might result if the Red Cross and /
the public health service should oc-
cupy identical fields. There appears |