Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1943-10-07
BOARD NAMES
NEW WORKER
State Board of Health Adds
Medical Social Consult
ant to Staff
SERVICE TO STATE

The Delaware State Board of
Health has broadened the scope of
its work by adding a medical social
consultant to the staff, Miss Eunice
Usher, formerly member of the.
staff Off the Social Service Depart
ment of Children's Hospital in Bos-
ton. Miss Usher's work in Della
ware will be of two types. She
will give consultation service to the
State Board of Health staff men,
bers and, upon request, in a limited
degree to social agencies within the
state working on related problems,
if these agencies do not have the
services of a medical social worker
available. She will also act in a
liason capacity between the State
Board of Health and the public and
private social agencies of the state
in considering social problems of
mothers and children who are re-
ceiving health services from the
State Board of Health's Division of
Crippled Children's Service, the Di-
vision of Maternal and Child
Health, or the Delaware Emergency
Plan for Maternity and Sick Infant
Care.
Masters Degree
A graduate of Wellesley College
in 1887, Miss Usher received her
masters degree in medical social
work from the Simmons College
School of Social Work in 1889, and
has spent the past four years as a
medical social worker with the
Children's Hospital in Boston. Miss
Usher worked with the surgical
service of this hospital, which in
cluded the nose and throat, plastic
and neuro-surgical services. The
goal of Children's Hoshpital was to
help children with medical prob
lens, and their parents, in such a
way that the children were able to
take their place as normal men,
bers of their group at home, in
school and in the community. When
a physically handicapped child was
discouraged and afraid to play with
other children or to go to school,
the medical social worker tried to
nd a way to show her that even
though she might not be able to do
strenuous things she could still
save a good time. One child, for
example, gained poise and learned
to forget about leg brace by TAX
ing piano and singing lessons. Fam
lily and friends began wanting to
have her around, especially be-
cause she could take part in an ac-
tivity which they all enjoyed.
Handicapped Children
Often families with children who
were handicapped just needed an
opportunity to talk about their
feelings and to know that other
children with the same problems
have learned to adjust to them and
that they are doing well despite the
handicaps. Some families needed
specialized assistance of other So
cial agencies and these were refer
red. An example of this was
where a school was disturbed about
a child with medical problems and
felt that it could not manage the
youngster in regular classroom
until the child was better adjusted
to his own limitations. In cases
like this it was necessary to secure
the help of nursery school, a spec
ial class or school, or child guild
ance clinic. To work through such
problems it was necessary for fam
lily, agency, and medical social
worker to combine their efforts to
make it possible for the child to
learn to lead a normal, happy life.
Miss Usher will do this type of
work in Delaware.