River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1924-10-30
DR.. Gudex Addresses
Parent Teachers Asst
District Representative of The State
Board of Health Talks On "The
Duties OF A County Nurse"

Dr.. Gudex addressed the Parent
Teachers association Tuesday eve
ming at the High School, explaining
what a County Nurse does for the
school children of the county
He said, among other things;
''The two main arguments against
hiring nurse are, higher taxes and
our grandfathers and grandmothers
didn't have County Nurse and they
lived long lives so why should we
have one today? Those who argue
thus, fail to remember that, while
their grandparents may have lived
to be old, they were very small per
cent of the whole number of children
who were born during that genera
tion who might have grown up under
better care and sanitary conditions.
The average span of life in 1924 was
20 years and in 1895 it had risen to
SO years and in Wisconsin in 1920
it has reached the higher mark of
So years. More deaths occurred
during 1895 than during the epidemic
of influenza in 1917. Statistics ac-
count for all while, formally, only
the few exceptions of longevity were
pointed out. The same holds true
of Worlds records in athletics. 1t
is the healthy development of the
many which decides the strength of
a nation.
Education rests on three pillars,
equally important, the mental, moral
and physical The duty of the
county nurse, as she goes among the
schools of the county, is to safeguard
all of these pillars. She requires
the hearty cooperation of the par
ents, however, in order to make her
work successful. Many people pay
out more every year on tests on their
farm animals, that they may be
kept in good condition, than their
taxes would be- raised by having a
school nurse and thus securing the
game precautions for their children'a
health.
The nurse organizes health in
struction so the teachers may work
as unit which makes such. instruc-
ton of more value. Through her ex-
aminations, she finds defective eyes.
ears and teeth, diseased tonsils and
troublesome golfers, all Of which
might be relieved or cured, thus in
surfing the child higher attainments
not only mentally but often morally.
She detects symptoms of contagious
diseases and by taking necessary
precautions epedemics may bc pre-
vented, for the schoolroom is the
greatest place for such diseases to
spread. Remember, the County
Nurse does not diagnose nor treat
disease, only recognizes symptoms
and defects in bodily organs, and
recommends treatment. This, of
course, is up to the parents, who
should only be too glad to fall in line
back of any movement which will be
a betterment not only to the child
but to the community and nation.
There is a Wisconsin law which pro-
vides for the maintaining and cdi
eating of cripples of which snany are
ignorant. A competent nurse could Sc
cure the benefits of this law for an
unfortunate child thus giving him a
means of earning a livllhood, which
otherwise he might not secure
These are only a few of the many
ways in which a nurse may prove
herself a blessing to a community
Appropriations for a County Nurse
are made by the County Board The
Pierce County Board meets az ELS
worth next month.