Evening star., 1924-11-19
IN TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

of introducing sanitation in the homes
of poverty. That dates back to about
1922, when both Lord Shaftsbury and
Pastor Fliedner were only about q
years of age. Florence Nightingale
was then in her infancy; but in 1887.
when an epidemic of fever was ravag-
ing Spitalsf1elds, this girl of II years
wrote in her diary. God called me to
His service on February Z, 1897" and
the rest of her life was devoted to
nursing, either in military camps
or in the slums Of English cities.
Her example has been the most out
standing light of inspiration for
nurses for nearly a century. 1t was
utterly unselfish and self-sacriticing
as is the ideal of the visiting
trained nurse today. The public has
Nightingale, founder OF the first
school for training nurses. but knows
little of the scarcely less romantic
stories of today's rounds of her many
successors in modern visiting nurses
our FLORENCE Nightingales."
Here is Florence Nightingale's
ideal of a visiting nurse-whom she
called district nurse"
First, district nurse must nurse.
She must be of yet higher class,
and of a yet fuller training than a
the doctor always at hand; because
she has no hospital appliances at
hand: and because she has to take
notes of the case for the doctor, who
has no one but her to report to him.
She is his staff of clinical clerks.
dressers and nurses.
Secondly, she must nurse the room,
as we'll as the patient; that is, make
the room such as a patient can re-
in. hrin nd r1a n IN 10
into it, and teach the inmates to keep
up that care and cleanliness, and 1t
requires a high stamp Of woman to
do this; to combine the servant, with
the teacher and with the educated
woman. who can so command the
patients confidence as to let her do
this.
Thirdly, a district nurse must
bring to the officer Of health or prop
er authorities sanitary defects which
he alone can correct"
The first work of this nature in
America was initiated in 1882 by DR..
Joseph Warrington, 23-year-old
physician of Philadelphia, the visitors
being volunteer ladies without
special training. Later, professional
nurses, undergoing training, were
| employed to serve 81 days and nights
without pay, as an apprenticeship,
after which they were privileged to
serve private patients. provided they
would not charge over SO week.
With the exception of Philadelphia
and Charleston, no city had visiting
nurses prior to 1877. Then, in New
York City, one nurse, a graduate of
the first class of nurses from Belle
vue Hospital, was paid by a wealthy
lady to devote her time to visiting g
the homes of the sick poor. She was
not only a nurse, but a Christian
missionary giving Cody counsel and
words Of Christian comfort; but,
one of the rules Of the visiting
nurses of today 10 that they must
not interfere with the patients re-
ligious beliefs. Nor may they dis
pense charity; they may report needs
to charitable organizations, but they
must confine themselves to nursing
and to hygiene. They receive no
presents.
Today all large cities and many
small communities maintain visiting
nurse service. as regular tnstitu-
tion.
4 4 ~
I It Is only necessary to recall the
amazing fact. az shown by the draft
for our Army, that one-fourth o.
|.the population Of America was found
unfit for military dHty--therefore
'subnornial tor industry ITO realize