Evening star., 1926-12-12

the living conditions. sanitary
surroundings, wholesome food, free
dom from contagious and infectious
diseases and general physical perfec
ton of the half million inha hitants of
Washington.
Without exception the Health De
partment is the busiest branch of the
District government. The daily de
mands for It's service are legion. A
multiplicity Of calls for assistance and
advice congo It's It's routine activities
and emergency services. 1t is the
"big doctor" of Uncle Sam land"
which also, on occasion, has to play
the part of investigator, policeman,
prosecutor, teacher. lecturer. judge.
dog catcher. scientist-and what not.
It is a tale teeming with human
interest and anecdote, a story over
flowing with the romance and adven-
ture of human life, a recital of
sciences most earnest efforts to make
our National Capital better place in
which to live.
Most Of us probably visualize the
Health Department as policing au-
thority, armed with mighty night
stick which It plies assiduously. And
most of us are signally wrong in any
such judgment. Visit. if you Will. the
Juvenile clinics: observe the invalu-
able medical and dental inspection in
our PUBIC SCHOOLS gam ldIilIildIuN
with the Health Department enforce
rnent of female and child labor laws;
study as complete and detailed vital
statistics as are collected annually in
any city in this country; note how
free our Federal city is of plaques,
pests and dangerous parasites, and
you will form a new and most COM
plimentary estimate of the Districts
guardianship of your health.
H. i- hnc In
United States. Rigid and frequent In
spections by honest officials protect
all the foods which we eat. as well AS
the restaura nts, lunchrooms, clubs
and cafeterias in which we consume
such substantials and delicacies from
pollution. putrefaction and disease
contamination. Any outbreak of COM
municable disease is snuffed out be-
fore 1t can mature. Washington's
everyday health record is improving
and our mortality is decreasing, indie
ative of the healthful. sanitary and
wholesome environments in which we
live.
OUR Capital City is fortunately free
- from the ills and evils which
accompany commercial manufacture
ing. The dust CRIME and smoke of
industrialism do not streak and stain
our immaculate buildings with SCOT
marks as badly as in other American
cities. The air which we breathe
as We stride along Washingtons
streets or avenues is remarkaoiy
free from impurities. The hazards
of the steel mill. the risks of railroad
shops, the dangers of working with
high powered machinery do not In
crease Washington's mortality rec
ords. In the main. our population
is better educated. better nourished,
better garbed and better cared for
along health lines than the in
habitants of the average American
city of comparable size Briefly. our
Health Department has superior
malleable metal with which to work.
The guidance of Washington's
health along the straight and narrow
trail of personal contentment and
well being begins when a little
stranger first sees light of day. The
same day that the stork arrives the
Health Department records in its vol
luminous registers the newest addi-
ton to Washingtons population.
The names of the parents and their
occupations, with the name. sex ana
birthday Of the child are written into
District records. This is the begin
ming of the Health Departments sur
veillance of the development OF
A few weeks after the child is
born, it's mother may wish to have
the youngster examined by an eX-
uerienced physician. She may desire
to make regular visits to this doctor
in order to see that the recent ar
rival grows and develops AS he
should. Rich and poor, senatorial
mothers or charwomen, with their
babies, are welcomed at the nine
head
quarters, which the District govern
ment maintains In centralized sec
tfons of the city. Regular medical
neutrality-suspicious.. measuring and
the physical examination of the chill
dren-is free to all who desire 10
avail themselves of such service. The
doctors and nurses advise the young
mothers how to feed. dress and care
for their young. You would be
amazed to see the waiting lines
which overflow the lounging rooms
and corridors at these District well
fare stations.
Mothers who register at the child
hygiene stations bring their babies
back at stated intervals. Detailed
records are kept Of the progress OF
each infant A doctor, registered
nurse and competent maid are sta
toned at each center. The doctor is
present for consultation and eXamt-
nations to 4 hours each week, while
the nurse is on hand halftime daily,
six days week. The nurse is capable
Of answering the majority Of the SIM
pie inquiries which young mothers
rnake-scientific replies which mean
so much to the health Of the child.
The child hygiene stations look
after the health of District children
up to years Of age. Approximately
$4,000 visits were made to these tuve-
nile welfare centers during the last
u months. while the District nurses,
in addition. made some Is, 900 calls
at the homes of youngsters who
could not be brought to the child
clinics. Two-thirds of the total regis
tration consists of white children,
while the remainder were colored,
treated at special clinics for that
race.
DISTRICT doctors and dentists now
~ strive to examine all the children
that enter the kindergartens and first.
grade schools. At present more than
$4,000 examinations of school children
are made annually to determine their
freedom from physical defects and
diseases. OF 2.614 kindergarten and
f1rst-grade pupils examined lately 91.5
per cent We're found to be suffering
from some physical defect. Many of
these defects can be cured. If they
are not corrected they may seriously
handicap the youthful schola site
work. Some may suffer from defec-
tive vision, which prevents them from
seeing their books and the blackboard
Raainly. Others have bad teeth, dis
eSeed tonsils, adenoids, speech de-
fects. impaired hearing and like all
.ments. Were it not for the school.
room medical examinations many par.