Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-10
NURSING AGENCIES
ARE HANDICAPPED,
REPORT REVEALS
Social Council Survey Shows
Lack of Personnel to
Treat Diseases.
INTERCHANGE OF DATA
URGED FOR EFFICIENCY
Suggest Health Department Take
Over Public Work of Tuber-
culosis Association.

CuAOolS nSSUCldIlOus
The public nursing agencies OF Wash
ington are handicapped in almost all
fields by inadequate STATS and their
lack Of correlation, according to a re-
port on the subject prepared for release
today under auspices of the Council
of Social Agencies.
In particular there is q lack of nurses
to treat with communicable, tubercular
and venereal diseases. while child
hygiene and school nursing services also
suffer from this respect
The report said further that efficiency
might be increased by an interchange
of data between official and private
nursing services by less specialized
nursing within the separate agencies,
and by employment of Office help to
relieve nurses of clerical duties.
Report Part of General Survey.
The report just released related to
the District Hea4th Departments pub
lie nursing service and was part Of
general health and hospital survey"
being prepared by the American Public
Health Association in conjunction with
the councils committee on lnterpreto-
ton.
Another section Of the survey, to be
published next week, will treat fully
with the Instructive Visiting Nurse So
ciety, the Child Welfare Society, the
Association for the Prevention Of Tu-
berculoSis and the prenatal service
Of Columbia Hospital.
There are SO public health nurses in
Washington, the report pointed out, 80
of which are under the Health Depart
ment. About half Of the total number
are employed by the Instructive Visit
ing Nurse Society.
Urge Increase I'm stan.
With regard to the Health Depart
ment'S nursing service, the report rec
that the communicable, veneresl and
tubercular disease services be brought
under q single nurse director, and that
clerical help be employed.
The total staff for tubercular Serv-
ice" the report said. is able to provide
only one-third of the nursing needed"
In particular the survey stressed the
need Of more nurses for this service.
1t was further suggested that the
Health Department take over the public
health nursing of the tuberculosis
Association, and that cases needing bed
side care be reported to the Visiting
Stan Education Advisable.
Concerning less specialization, the
report said that q program Of stan
education" would be advisable in order
that nurses heretofore occupied chiefly
with one speciality might become IA
miliar with other phases Of the work
in order to participate in O more gen
eralized service.
THE second step might be estab-
liShLnent of q demonstration district
in one part Of the city to study the pos
sibilitieS of generalized service. The
possibility Of establishing a bureau Of
public health nursing in the Health
Department should be kept in mind,
into which the three services might be
ultimately amalgamated."
In general, the advantages found in
generalization in other cities are CEN
trail direction, better standardization
with emphasis on the improved relation
Of the nurse to the family, the inter-
relation of the three programs involved,
the prevention of overlapping of nurses
In the homes, the saving of time both in
travel and In home visiting. the avail
ability Of nurses for all types Of clinics
and the administration advantage of
having them on hand for filling in dur
ing vacations and illness Of other men,
bers Of the staff.
Child Hygiene Service.
The Child Hygiene Service Of the city
is well conducted and carried out along
the lines of accepted practice and good
quality Due TO lack of sufficient per-
sonnet the amount of home visiting is
limited. 1t is possible that the Child
Hygiene nurses are visiting the same
cases as other groups of nurses as re-
porting back and forth Is infrequent
and to correct this q method Of clear
ance is advised.
With regard to prenatal work, 1t
was recommended that more visits be
made. Other suggestions were that
the Child Welfare Society furnish the
Health Department with regular lists
Of newborn babies within its territory
and that all calls be made by the So
ciety, that the personnel for infant and
pre-school services be increased and
that nurse supervisors be appointed at
the ratio of l to each or 10 addi-
tons to the stats.
Transportation Inadequate.
"The transportation arrangements
for school nurses are totally made
quate," the report pointed out, with
the nurses receiving the equivalent of
is car tokens a day. This means that
the nurses must do a great deal of
walking to their cases or pay carfare
out of their own pockets, which is fire.
quently done.
The school nurse program Is at pres
ent limited and concentrated on follow
up of school children for the correction
of, physical defects. The chief medical
inspector gives as much supervision to
the staff as the many demands upon his
office permit and has worked up splen-
did esprit de corps among the nurses
The cooperation with other organiza-
tions is cordial, but the nurses are too
busy to keep in close touch with other
nursing services being rendered in the
same homes to which they are going.
In summing up school nursing, the
survey urged appointment of additional
nurses and selection at the present time
Of nurse supervisor, who would be
furnished assistant supervisors from
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