Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-02
HEALTH CARE FOR YOUNG
REGARDED AS MAJOR NEED
Trend Is Observed to Employ School
Physicians on Full Time to Keep
All Pupils Fit.
BY FREDERICK r. ROGERS, PHI. D.

BY FREDERICK r. ROGERS, Phi. ID.
Director Of Health Education in New York.
NIMALS land mem living in
n their natural habitat have lit
"A tie need of health education.
1 \ Nature provides them with in
stincts which serve for all
ordinary events of life. Food seldom
changes, sanitation is cared for by in
stinctive behavior, clothing is unneces-
sary, good air and sunlight exist in
abundance, the weak and deformed die
or are killed in infancy.
In modern societies, on the other
hand, health education is of paramount
Importance. Everywhere nature is vio-
lated. Instincts are thwarted. Men
live in hives, foods are brought from
the ends Of the earth, transportation
facilities almost eliminate the need of
exercise, which, with food and rest
constitute the trinity of prime health
needs. Even sleep is taken at convent
ence. 1t may be said that the need for
health education is directly proper
tional to the completely Of civilization.
Need Long Neglected.
Until very recently. however, this
phase Of school life has been sadly
neglected. 1t was thought more i'm
portant to know that Columbus crossed
the Atlantic in 1892 than to know that
milk is necessary to the diet of grow
ing children. Rather than teach the
care Of the teeth, teachers preferred to
drill pupils on the proper spelling of
words, most Of which they never would
use. Children destined for early death
from tuberculosis were nevertheless
chastised If they failed in geography
| lessons.
Now all this is changed. 1t is the
purpose Of this article to sketch some
OF the more important modern adjust
mentS which educators are making to
keep children well during their school
lives, and teach them how to care for
themselves when they become adults.
Today the laws of New York State
require that every child in school must
be examined annually by a physician,
who seeks to discover any disease which
might prove dangerous to other chill
dren or defects which might handicap
the pupil in his studies Pupils with
contagious diseases are segregated or
sent home Immediately. Those whose
eyes or ears are defective are aided In
securing treatment. Teeth, nose and
Threats are examined and defects are
reported to parents.
This program of medical eXamina-
lions has prevailed in New York State
since 1914. In fact, New York was the
f1rst State to make medical examina-
tons compulsory by statute, and still
retains unquestioned leadership in this
field.
Pre-SchOol Tests Made.
The latest developments in the field
OF health examinations are interesting
The tendency in more progressive COM
munitles is to examine children during
pre-school years; that Is, kindergarten
and f1rst-grade children are examined
during the Summer before they ego e.
school, for the first time Parents are
requested to be present at these exam
nations. The examination itself Is So
conducted that children will acquire re-
spect for the physician and interest in
keeping the body At.
Such examinations require from 10
to 20 minutes each, but they paw splen-
did dividends. To perform these serv-
ices specially trained physicians are
necessary. The trend today is to EN-.
ploy full-time school physicians and To
require OF them evidence of special com.
petence. New York State now REQUIRE,
full-time school physicians to possess
! certincates for this service, based upor
designated postgraduate study, New
York Is unique In this respect.
The school nurse Is another modern
innovation. She is the good angel