The Wilmington morning star., 1947-02-16
COUNTRY DOCTOR
NEEDS SUPPORT
t.. A Long Way To Hos
pitfalls For Many North
Carolina Families

current GOCQ HedItu SaiA1P4eN
hy North Cardinals leading
feature writers.
By COLvIN T. LEONARD
Special Writer, The Greensboro
Daily News.
GREENSBORO - Distance be.
tween widely separated parts OF
the world has been translated INTO
Q mere matter of hours and MIN
utes, but it is still a long way
10 the nearest hospital for thou
sands Of North Carolina farm
families.
The country doctor gets around
lot faster than he did back IN
the days of patient and faithful
Old Dobbin and the mud-spattereo
buggy, but even with a speedy au-
tonobile and good roads it is quite
an assignment to be physician 70
$500 men, women, and children
h scattered Carolina farm homes.
North Carolina, despite its boast
Cd achievements in many fields
has been brought up against these
and other irrefutable facts of the
nadeauacy of its medical and hos
nital facilities. Because the state
Is more rural than urban, the i'm
~plications are even more vital To
the average farm family than the
size of next seasons crop. At the
same time, this is a problem that
is closely related to the welfare
and security of the entire citizen
ship Of the state.
This disturbing and alarming
fact OF inadequate hospital and
medical care is not something
which has come suddenly into be-
Ing. It was there all the time, out
1t has only recently been brought
into focus to mar the picture OF
Our complacency.
Maybe it is incorrect to say that
North Carolina more Or less
stumbled into its medical care and
hospital problem. However, the
fact is that what is now known
as the Good Health Movement
go1 under way in l943 when it was
discovered that many of our young
men were physically unfit Tor mill
tary service and that a cr-tlcal
shortage of both doctors and hos
pital beds was particularly seri-
Gus in most rural counties.
Leaders of the North Caroline
Medical Society appealed to ther
Governor J.. M. Broughton 10 in
augurate a plan for improvement
of health conditions in the state.
In February, 1914. Governor
Broughton named a state hospita.
and medical { a commission,
headed by DR.. Clarence Poe. edi.
tor of the Progressive Farmer, to
study conditions and develop a
statewide program.
This commission made a careful
study and investigation of the con-
ditions and reached the inescap'
able conclusion that h e serious
situation was due largely to lack
of doctors, hospitals and medica.
personnel. The 1945 General AS
sembly gave great impetus to the
program.
What were some of the facts
that led to this conclusion? Well
In the first place North Cardinals
assignment to the category OF ag
ricultural states was justified oy
statistics showing that 10 percen'
of her people live i'll rural areas
Furthermore, the statistics showed
that only 81 percent Of the states
doctors were serving this large
segment of population.
Although North Carolina rank
ing 45th in the number of ply
sicians per 100. 900 population has
one doctor for every 1,554 persons
it has only one physician for every
$500 rural residents. The state
needs approximately 1900 more
doctors to provide one tor each
thousand citizens.
1t may not greatly impress you
to quote statistics to t b { eifec'
Ildl IL SlGtCS lldtC lllOAO hooPiHt-
beds per thousand population thar
North Carolina. However, you car
not as easily get away from the
implications of the fact that there
are SO counties in the state which
have not 3 single hospital bed
You should be impressed by the
related fact that AZ percent OF the
states hospital beds are located
in six large urban areas.
Statistical information takes or
more meaning when We consider
it in terms of health and welfare
OF individual men, women anc
children. The fact that North Car
DINA had the highest percentdEe
of DIR It reflections IN the natior
is a disgraceful first which
must be measured in terms of the
physical handicsps Of individual
youths. 1t is time for action Whef
40 percent OF the states white
boys and II percent of its Negroe:
are found physically unfit for mill
tary duty.
This health problem is as per
scnal as the failure of about 100,
600 school children to make theil
grades every year in III public
schools nee a large percentage
Of these '~repeaters" are the vic
TINS of physical defects that coult
be corrected.
Can we Ii htly dismiss tn
alarming fact that a recent state
vice examination of North Caro-
Ina school boys revealed that q
percent asd a fective teeth l
percent hed defective vision, l
percent we're undcrwcight ana l
percent had defective tonsils? Tn.
alternative TO a collective shrug @
the shoulder to this state problem
is positive action. and this mean
the correction of our deficicncie
in medical end hospital care
No@hne is mote tragic than III
death Of 2 70 Nc mnt2or in chilo
birth, and North Carolina ha
more than lis share O. these tragt
dies as it RANKS 41st in materne