The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-09-09

EdSOn "a, n e pOpula-
ton has jumped from $4,000 to TO-
900 in three years. The town has
only IA doctors, or one to every
5000 inhabitants. Each OF the doc
tors is seeing from 20 to 40 patients
a day and has time for only three
or four house calls week, Most OF
the doctors are so overworked they
refuse all night calls. Patients have
to get up out Of their sick beds, &c
to the doctors office and wait their
turn, often for hours.
The town has four dentists who
are booked up solid for from three
to four. months ahead. There was
one hospital Of 68 beds, whose cap
acity is now being doubled, but
there is still a housing shortage, an
inadequate number Of food stores
insufficient restaurants, and too lit
tie laundry service. In the face OF
these conditions, the investigators
were not surprised to find that alb.
senteeism in the war plants and
shipyards ran as high as 16 per cent
on some days. along with a terrific
labor turnover.
SHIPYARDS HIRE PHYSICIANS
AS result Of this survey, the
Shipyards hired one doctor and as
sigred him to a housing project
community. The yards could use
three more doctors. An inferno was
hired for the hospital. An Army
doctor from a nearby camp, whose
full-time services were not required
at the post, asked permission to
spend a few hours each day in town
for civilian practice.
This Is an extreme case, but 1t is
by measures such as these that local
communities, hit hardest by short
ages of doctors, are having to get
BY. And there are over 300 u. s.
communities faced with such prob.
lens today.
The country has been lucky thus
far. An office Of war information
report on public health, Just releas-
er. reveals the lowest death rate on
record, an increase in the birth rate,
and a drop In maternal and infant
mortality. Infantile paralysis, men
ingits and dysentery are up, deaths
from tuberculosis and venereal d.
Seases have not been cut, but tnflu-
en-: and typhoid rates, which nor
ma!iy go up IN war times' nave &C
tually Desn [eouce H.. $500 L.o,..
IN sploe OF al tliesS s0Vo DaeaAs,
Plus Ine iact tllas tlle A ,.nS S naS
aceua4ly uLs1a.a .. soau s.,a aSov w. a..
tors previously co.l'ais .so So.to.
service WIN W0ops, w. oS ..ea
shortage rs sSil! Vls Lnos soo 49," SuS
problem. Inc piaceS o. 'i'e LOW wy.
Cors aiSci,aLsso ~ S.'e ns. Ien
DC le!tI4eo wayAl o','s noS So t ~.
toIs' III aooAHlUii, ti'Ov0 uS a. a."
oelag conAtn me-, " TMI LII, 49,
al,o Navy sliis yea, !" ~. rs. ''
. So go 100 - az hos,. ~ 4. -
1919, 10 o'GoU. On Stie . oHSIs " 80 a.
ARMY anu tSavy " 100 10 '' 80 oaare. '
sIlls WIZ pc oa eoo 1891 w.. Oh,i SCH
inaVe!y eveiy Sgv me- et ~ .'..oay,
tnls nu'iol wa" noS n p S &c
evenly eteaIel cVt.oei! a 49,. 0
ing Eequife ~ ~ 1's.s os,c s &c., ~
opeFaSion' WaaS aaeS V e. ,,';,,t :
say they aeIuS SnS+o neS -. 40 sua-u 1so
mum u oi'e ooo'oi 'oi e'e'' -''
men
DISTRIBUTION OF DOCTORS
With these $4,000 of the most
able bodied physicians In service,
the civilian population Of approx
mately 1875, 100000 people will be left
with 100000 doctors to take care Of
them. OF course, some $4,000 are
physicians, surgeons and specialists
in general practice, the others being
public health officials, internes and
resident physicians. This will leave
an average of one general practi-
toner for approximately every 1900
civilians. This is considered a safe
figure if the doctors are evenly ds-
tributed.
The trouble is, they're not, and in
redistributing the available doctor
to meet every need. the physicians
procurement and assignment SER
vice in the War Manpower Commits
sion, charged with this task, has
had m do some sharn Juggling In