Evening star., 1938-12-16
Health, Prosperity
Linked in Talk 10
Business Federation
Dr.. Isomineer Cites
Death Rate Decline
For Washington

For Washington
Describing the work in improving
health standards Of Washington,
DR.. Melvin P. Isaminger of the
District Health Department en-
phasized that good health goes
hand in hand with business pros
perity. He spoke before a meeting
Of the Federation OF Business Mems
Associations last night at the Ham
ilton Hotel.
IF you have healthy citizens you
have good business because healthy
people are productive" DR.. Isa-
minger declared.
He traced the history of health
here since 1885 when DR.. George
c. Rutland. District health officer,
came from Syracuse and "got things
done" The Health Department |
personnel has grown from 225 to
over 1000 employees, while the re-
organization of the nursing system
and modernization of hospitals has
produced steady decrease in the
death rate. both of adults and of
children, DR.. Isaminger stated.
The adult death rate has dropped |
from 16 per 1000 in 1884 to 13 per
1000 at present, he said. One
hundred and ten more babies were
saved in the first 10 months of this
year than were reclaimed from
death in like period last year,
due to the development of child
hygiene system initiated by DR..
Rutland and his aides, he added.
Cites Restaurant Sanitation.
He described the work of the
Health Department in restaurant
sanitation, saying that the District
now has one of the best records In
that field in the country.
Graphically outlining the work of
the Health Department by means of
charts and illustrations, DR.. Isa-
minger divided the departments
health services into the following
10 fields:
l. Preventable diseases. such as
diphtheria, pneumonia, etc.
2. Maternal and child welfare.
The work in this field was mainly
educational, he said.
3. tuberculosis.
4. School medical inspection.
5. Laboratory work.
6. Venereal diseases. Citing the
need for more facilities in this de-
partment, DR.. Isaminger said more
than 1,400 visits are made daily to
venereal clinics throughout the city.
Z. Sanitation.
8. Social service. This includes
nursing visits to the home.
8. Vital statistics. This was clas-
sifled as the bookkeeping Of public
health
Nursing Staff Small.
10. Nursing. DR.. Isaminger de-
plored the small number of nurses
now working in the Health Depart
ment-9O-and said that the Fed
eral health survey, conducted last
year under DR.. Robert E. Olson,
recommended at least twice that
number to adequately care for health
needS IN Lne OlStrlct.
Although Health Department IA
cilities now reach only about one
fourth of the city's population, Dr.
Isaminger expressed the hope that
eventually all would be taken care of.
The business federation, pointing
out that 1927 per cent of all the prop
erty in the District is Federal tax
exempt property, and that of the re-
mainder, 80 per cent is District
owned and So per cent belongs to
churches, charitable institutions,
ETC., and is also exempt from taxa
ton, demanded that the Federal
Government pay fair and equitable
share of District expenses.
The removal of parking restric-
tions on M street and Wisconsin
avenue in the Georgetown area dur
ing rush hours in the morning and
afternoon are urged by the group
after John Paul Jones described the
no-parking regulations as directly
responsible Tor business failures in
the area.
Cuts Business Peak.
Merchants depend on the trade
they get from to 6 pm.-thats
when they get the majority Of their
business from Government workers
returning homeland from am. to
8 am, when they go to work." he
said, adding that all that potential
trade is lost because the customers
can't park.
Mr.. Jones said he will represent
the Georgetown Business Mems As
sociation at hearing before the
Traffic Advisory Committee at 8
o'clock tonight at the District Build
ing to protest the restrictions. j.
Nelson Anderson will represent the
federation as general counsel at the
hearing.
The group voiced its approval of
the proposed municipal stadium,
with the provision that 1t be built
either by Government funds or with
the aid Of P. w. A. grant, and an
nounced that it would back the Sta
dium Committee of the Touchdown
Club In the matter.