The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-12-12
XMAS SALE Of
PATIENTS WORK
Articles Made at Pine Rest to be
Disposed of for Benefit of
Institution.
EMBRACE VERY USEFUL GIFTS

On Friday and Saturday, December
14th and 18th, a Xmas sale of work
done by the patients in the Occupa-
tional Therapy Department of Pine
Rest Sanatorium, will be held at At
lantfc City.
This work has been carried on since
the beginning of the year as a regular
department of the Sanatorium.
Occupational Therapy, or the use of
occupation as a therapeutic measure,
is not of recent origin. 1t was Galen,
the physician of ancient times, who
said Employment is Natures Physi-
cian." Only in recent years has this
form of therapy been successfully ap-
piled to the sanatorium treatment of
persons i'll with tuberculosis. That
mental contentment is an important
factor in the cure has long been rec
ognized. During the protracted peri
DDS of cur taking, the patients have
much time for thought. These thoughts
in many cases misdirected may have
a disastrous influence upon the out
come of the sanatorium treatment.
Worry over personal ills, family af-
fairs, financial difficulties, are all ex-
amples of mental state opposed to
rest and a serious drain on the vitality
of the patient. In cases of this type
the proper kind of occupation acts as
a sedative to the nervous system,
the first fundamental in the treatment
of tuberculosis.
Even the tedium of long periods of
rest in bed is lightened by work of
various kinds, the occupation being
graded according to the strength and
ability of the patient, from the braid
ed dog leash made by bed patients, to
the large and heavier basketry car
ried on by the ambulent patients. So
complete is the cooperation between
physician, nurses, occupational teach
er and the patient that the therapeu-
tic value of the occupation in the
treatment of the patient is never lost
sight of.
Comparatively few people in Allan
tic County are aware that our Tnber-
culosis Hospital is considered a model
of its kind not only in New Jersey but
in the United States The plan of
building and equipment, also the rou-
tine and management in every depart
ment, have brought COMMUNICATION and
endorsement from tuberculosis ex-
perts all over the country.
To complete the equipment of this
up to date hospital, the Board of Man
ayers added to the working staff of
Pine Rest a graduate o~ccupational
teacher to carry on this important
work. She has organized the classes
and helped make the work attractive
to the patients and a marked success.
The past ear has seen more content
ed men, women and children, more
reconciled to the months necessary to
complete the cure, and few idle
hands are seen. A happier atmos-
phere prevails and so contagious is
the spirit that even the nurses in their
spare time are doing Occupational
Therapy work with the patients.
One Of the happy results of the
short time the work has been going
on is the report of a patient discharg-
ed from Pine Rest who is now earning
his living by making baskets, which
occupation he learned while in the
S~anatorium. Funds raised through
the Xmas sale will be used for the
benefit of the patients and for the
Occupational Department, for the pur-
chase of materials and to put the work
on a larger scale.
The articles which cover a wide
range of hand work, such as wicker
lamps, baskets, trays, beaded bags and
necklaces, weaving and wood work,
have been thoroughly fumigated and
rendered free from infection before
being put On sale.