The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-12-03
HEALTHDOCTOR PREPARES
FOR WINTER TIME TRAVEL
Continued from Page One)

"There is more brown than black
on the caterpillars," he gave as his
reason for believing the winter would
be more like two years ago. "That
reason" he added, is as good as any
other"
"Reaching patients by snowshoes is
easy compared to attempting to reach
them by car when the roads are soft
with muck and snow and the wheels
sink below the axle"
Part of DIR. Packs work this win
ter will be to continue his preventive
work in diphtheria, smallpox, typhoid
fever and scarlet fever, by giving in
EQUATIONS, toxoid, vaccinations, the
Shick and Dick tests. There are "a
elementary schools in the county; 81
of them are one-room schools. All have
roads leading to them except one
Rock Lodge school-requiring a walk
through the woods of about one-quar-
ter mile. Many of these roads become
impossible in winter for weeks at
time. "Roads generally are better than
in many counties and have improved
within the past few years.
"At the beginning of 1886 there
were 1854 school children out of about
$500 who were shown tobe immune
to scarlet fever by Dick test. During
this year there were SO cases OF
14 eo,,o, b,,+ MT ono in the inn
mune group. There were over one
hundred cases of scarlet fever dur
ing each year 1884 and 1885. We are
now carrying on demonstration OF
scarlet fever prevention in the schools
with which we hope to greatly reduce
the number of cases."
"About 1000 were immunized
against diphtheria in 1884 and about
800 last year. Only three cases oc-
Cured in 1886, but this work is being
continued.
'The most difficult problem in this
county is poverty in inaccessible
places. We often have to drive a long
distance on the public roads, then
over private roads (seven gates to a
trip, then walk until we reach the
home where there is illness. Where
there is illness in these places it is hard
to get practicing physicians to go, and
one cannot blame them. Sometimes
more than half day is involved, and
seldom any money. The public health
officer is not permitted to prescribe
medicine or to practice generally; his
work is entirely preventive"
DR.. Peck has three nurses under his
direction-Mrs. Joseph F. Fabey, Mrs.
Samuel Cole and Mrs. Ruth Howard
vonBaumann.
GAIL three nurses have harder
time than I do" DR.. Peck remarked.
"On November % Mrs. Fahey had to
walk several miles to reach house
where a baby lived who was sent on
November Is to the Children's Hos
pital School in Baltimore for plastic
operation on a defective eye-lid. The
father, who had a clubfoot due to old
infantile paralysis, also went for an
operation, and the mother went for
treatment of large goiter."
DIR. Peck considers one Of the most
important phases of his work as that
of orthopedic surgery. With the CO.
operation of DIR. George E. Bennett,
Baltimore bone specialist, two clinics
are held yearly where hundreds are
examined and treated. Through the
Health Department cases of deform-
ity are being looked after without
delay. DR.. Peck recited one expert
ence:
Dolores, an infant of the North
Glade community, was visited by one
of the county nurses few days
after birth. The mother and baby had
not had a nurse. The child had dis
located hips and ankles. She was sent
to Johns Hopkins Hospital where she
was admitted when 20 days old and
placed in casts, which will correct
her deformities. Two other patients
treated at Johns Hopkins at the same
time were not so fortunate. One was