Evening star., 1939-10-26
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.

Ihey trudge the pavementS OF
Washington carrying bulging black
leather bags. They tramp miles
through the snow to reach a pneu-
monia case in a desolate hut. They
wear blue uniforms and the poor
people love them. They are the
visiting nurses.
Their day begins at $50 am. in
the offices of the Instructive Visiting
Nurse Society. Seated within reach
OF a supervisor with their card file
OF cases before them, they plan their
days work. They call doctors and
clinics for instructions or get in
touch with social workers. for often
their problems 60 beyond medical
care alone. The poor must also eat.
Then they pack their bags. Band
age, gauze and cotton, thermometers,
soap and alcohol, swabs and paper
towels, medical scissors and an
apron all fit in. There's always
can OF canned heat" in case
patient hasn't even a wood stove to
sterlllze instruments. Packed, the
bag weighs exactly 8 pounds.
Variety Of Sections Call.
Shortly after 9 am. they go out
to their district. It may be in
congested colored area where the
infant death rate is high and tuber-
culoSis f1ourishes. 1t may be in a
better section where hospital bills
have drained the family resources.
1t may even be in middle-class
residential district where patients
can pay for visits. But payment
OF any kind, even 25 cents a visit,
is true Of only a third of the cases.
Here's how one nurse, Well call
her Miss Jones, spent yesterday:
Lucinda is diabetic. She must
take lnsulln injections, but she can't
seem to understand how to do it
herself. The nurse walks up the
rough wooden planks to the open
door OF Lucinda's shack. She goes
inside. but the only living thing is
great black dog. In answer to her
calls, colored man appears from
the back yard She tells him to
have Linda call the Office if a friend
hasn't administered the injection.
Five blocks away is her second
call. This time she must find her
way through q black cellar to the
back of the house. Her patient has
a badly infected leg. His injury has
kept him away from work a month
and what little money he had is
gone. His wife asks for and gets
a note to the Public Assistance Di-
vision. The family will at least
have food.
Prepares for Work.
The nurse rolls up her sleeves,
puts on her white apron and asks
for newspapers. They are always
necessary, because instruments and
bandages must be put down in a
clean place.
Pipes cover the ceiling and gray
light filters in from the back alley. It
is the only light, for the electricity
has been cut off. She has taught the
man to keep salt solutions on his
leg. She changes the bandage,
keeping up a bright line
OF talk. She suggests that the man
get library card so he can read
through the long hours.
Another walk, this one longer, and
she opens the door of little frame
house where mother lies upstairs
with her new baby. A housekeeping
aide, brought to the house by the
nurse, starts fire going so the
nurse will have hot water to bathe
the mother and infant. The water
must be brought in from the back
yard.
The two older children sit in
grave silence beside the bed. The
baby is asleep in an old suitcase
covered with sheets. Previous visits
have resulted in a tray with Jars
cod liver oil, cotton and
the other necessities of baby care.
Clean clothes are protected from
dust on hangers covered with news
papers.
Advises Gifts of Oranges,
The nurse knows the mother can't
afford oranges, but she needs them.
IF you have friends who want to
get you something" she suggests,
you might ask for oranges"
When the nurse leaves a fire is
burning in the wood stove, the baby
is asleep in its suitcase, the mother,
bathed and with a fresh nightgown
on. lies peacefully on a freshly made
bed.
The next stop is on the third floor
OF a rooming house. A colored
mother has returned from the hos
pital without learning a thing about
baby care. She can't even bathe the
infant. The nurse gives a demon
stration and the mother tries.
She shows the willing mother how