Evening star., 1935-11-14

S~>--.~~ Dr. hunlAnus
lecture.
DR.. Ruhland championed the wis
dom of expansion of public health
service in the field Of sickness preven-
ton and health promotion. In both
these fields. he declared. public health
will continue essentially in the role OF
a stimulator rather than a performer
His basic conception was that sick
ness is not an individual matter. but
one that affects society as a whole
He raised the question of state meol-
cine or some form of socialism or COM
n,unism as applied to public health
programs.
He dismissed these suggestions with
the statement: The American spirit
of self-reliance and the TACT
there are $1,000 900 persons with pri-
vate life insurance and 45000,o00 with
Independent savings accounts, are
pretty good guarantees against rapid
spread Of collectivism."
Health Campaign Winning.
The address was given at a time
when DR.. Rutland is beginning to see
success for his months of campaign
ing for new public measures to COM
bat the Districts high tuberculosis
death rate. for the expansion OF the
Districts public health nursing serv-
ice and his promotion of the cause OF
more adequate school medical inspec-
ton service, including immunization
Of children against diphtheria and
other communicable diseases.
DR.. Rutland came into office last
March l to declare at once that the
District can buy" a greatly improved
public health condition through
proper provision for public health
measures.
He believes communicable diseases,
as they now exist. can be eliminated
through proper public health promo
ton measures. Chronic diseases, he
believes, are particularly the problem
for the family and the private phy-
sician. He emphasizes that the public
health promotion is in the direction
of health promotion rather than per
formance" III treatment.
Health Held Social Matter.
After tracing the history of public
health measures through a long Pc
riod, DR.. Rutland stated to the Med
ical Society last night:
In the first place, the health OF
every individual is a social concern
and responsibility and. secondly. as
follows from this, medical care in its
widest sense for every individual is an
essential condition for maximum eff
cheney and happiness in a civilized
community.
THE ideal Of this viewpoint can
not be challenged. What must be
considered most carefully, however, is
the method by which medical care
for the masses is to be secured.
rs it to be in the form of COM
munism, as in Soviet Russia? Is it
to be in some form of socialism, as
in Continental Europe? Are we to
hav, state medicine and will public
departments of health be the agencies
through which such service will be
offered to the public?
These are considerations that cam
not be simply waved aside as of no
consequence. We must realize that
the history of the development of
medical practice in the past shows
that the physicians position in soci-
ETY. was never determined by the
physician himself, but by the society
he was serving.
Leadership Held Needed.
"To what extent public opinion and
action in the matter of public health
service can be led along safe and con-
structive lines will depend largely
upon what wise and purposeful lead
ership the medical profession can
bring to the problem.
Neither a policy of purposeless
drifting nor one of violent opposition
to all progress will serve the needs
of the situation. A reasonable and
constructive policy that will make
medical service available to the aver
age man at reasonable cost must
be worked out.
Fortunately, it does not appear
that there is any necessity for pre-
cipitate action. Surely the fear of
the development of a Communistic
state in this county can be definitely
put aside. The American spirit Of
self-reliance. which, fortunately, has
largely survived the depression, and
the fact that, as Frank r. Kemp
assures us, there are still 65,000,000
persons carrying private life insurance
and 45,000,000 with independent saw
ings accounts, are pretty good guar
antees against a rapid spread of
collectivism.
In the meantime the practice of
public health will move chiefly in
two main channels, namely, sickness
prevention and health promotion"
Concluding this discussion, DR.. Ruh-
land said:
ITO inform the public regarding the
possibilities of disease prevention and
to urge the public to seek such protec-
tion, either at the hands of the fam
lily physician. or, when this Is not
possible, through public agencies. that
is the role which public health has
selected for itself.
TT must, In turn, be the -responA.