Evening star., 1935-12-29
This crossroads gas station West Virginia high.
way is strategcally located to render first aid.
RED CROSS IN FIELD
Will Establish Thousands of First-Aid Stations
Along Highways as Step in Reducing
Heavy Annual Toll.

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automobile and rush pellmell to what
is thought to be the nearest doctor
or. hospital.
I'm the meantime, the precious
minutes in which a life might have
been saved are gone. Simple control
of arterial bleeding and quiet until
the doctor could arrive might easily
have made the difference between life
and death.
"Or. again. simple fracture may
become, by unskilled handling and
transportation, a compound fracture,
with all the serious possibilities this
type Of injury presents"
IN SAN FRANCISCO, while address,
ing the twenty-fifth annual cHn-
ical congress Of the American College
of Surgeons, DR.. e. Payne Palmer,
staff president at st. Joseph's Hospital.
Phoenix, Ariz., stressed the Importance
of establishing first-aid stations at
dangerous crossroads and along all
major highways to the 5000 assembled
surgeons.
Such first aid" he said, would
eliminate unnecessary suffering OF
victims of accidents and avert COM
plications of many injuries through
improper handling and save the lives
Of many who die for lack of proper
treatment due to remoteneSs Of med
tcal aid"
A few highway first-aid stations
have been in operation In half dozen
States for the last two or three years,
so that q considerable amount Of
actual experience already has been
gained.
A little more than a month ago
more than a score of representatives
of the first-aid and hfe-saving service
went into the field to visit chapters
in all parts of the country, to help
these State and county Red Cross
units organize and establish roadside
first aid in their territories.
A concentrated effort was recently
made in New England, with the result
that 20 fl! st-aid stations have been
opened there within the last month,
and arrangements have been COM
pleted and training is now going on
for the establishment of $50 addi-
tional stations, which will be in op-
Grafton within q few weeks. More
than IS first-aid stations have been
established In West Virginia, serving
approximately 500 miles of major
traffic arteries in that State, including
United States routes so, 19 and II
and West Virginia route 2.
States in the East where highway
frst-aid stations are now in operation
include Alabama, Maryland, MasSa-
chusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont, Virginia and West
Virginia.
THE program was launched less than
l. a month ago In the Middle West,
in Illinois and Iowa, and 80 stations
are located and will be opened In these
two States as soon as the training
Of personnel is completed.
In the Far West, in California and
Washington eight highway first-aid
stations have been opened, and in
these States and in Oregon 80 addi-
tional stations will be established be-
fore the end Of the year.
AS the number of National Red
Cross first-aid field men Is limited, it
was impossible to launch the highways
first-aid program simultaneously in
all States. Three groups of national
representatives have started work in
several States in the East, Midwest
and West and will continue until all
Red Cross chapters in those areas
have been contacted.
In setting up stations, existing facil-