Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-09-30
Medical Examination OF School
Children. cryrr

n ~ 4 n a
Medical examination ofchildren 10 the
public schools by the Deputy State Health
Officers assisted by the public heath
nurses. will begin In a few, days, Accord
ing to an announcement by De-. R. H. Riley,
Assistant Director of the State Department
Of Health aud Chief Of the Bureaa of Com
municable Diseases. The plan Il to Be
tried this year of concentrating on the
younger children those in the first three
grades The aim of the examination Dr..
Riley said. is to discover conditions that
may need correction. particularly Of ne
throat. nose. teeth. eyes. hearing, heart,
lungs and of the weight. as an indication
OF General health and well-beine. The
sooner conditions of this sort are found
and corrected, DR.. Riley said, the better
the child's chances for good health and
for success in his school NE.
While the health officers win Try to-
reach every child In the first three grades.
children in upper grades will not be neg
lected. The older children in need Of
care OF this sort. especially those who are
brought to the attention Of the examining
physicians by the teachers or those who
we're examined last year and were sched-
uled for re-examination this season. will
be given the same sort of checking up as
the younger ones will have In addition
In several counties. Carroll. Howard
Frederick. Montgomery. and Prince Georges
among them. all of the children In the
schools will be examined as usual. not
simply their younger brothers and sisters.
Approximately $4,000 school children
were given a medical examination last
year, $4,000 in the grades and the rest
were prospective first-graders. who were
examined before their enrolment in school
10 all cases. parents were notified OF con-
dltions that needed correction and we're
urged to have the corrections made.
Zone Of the effects Of the medical super |
pervision Of the children in our schools, |
Pr. Riley said, has been to cut down the |
number Of absences from sickness or in |
health. Losing less time from sickness
has made It possible for many children to /
complete their work without interrupt on
end has made them make more rapid
progress. Ten years ago. 40 per cent Of
all Of the children attending the public
schools were what 10 known as 'repeaters,
that is. they could not get through their
Grade work in specified time and had to
repeat the work next year. As result of
ne continuous supervision OF the health
y the children the number has been cut
Town to % per cent. ,-.,--.--
1T will be seen from this that medical L
supervision of the health of the children +
'erves a double purpose--the correction
y unfavorable conditions. removes what
night be serious handicaps to the health
ind mental development of the children 8
md gives them better start toward
iealthy manhood and womanhood But !
here is an advantage to the taxpayer also. /
q costs less for the State to educate a /
'hild who gets through his work in speci-
led time than it does TO train one who
las to repeat his work. The financial
question is important. Of course, but the ,,
'est result of this health supervision o
he children is the child hirnself-the ALL
Onnd healthy child"