Evening star., 1947-09-07
D. T., School Health
Improves
But Sill Is Deficient
Too Short of Nurses
For Effective Program,
Dr.. Seckineer Says
By Thomos 6. Buchonon

Your child will get closer health
supervision in school this year than
he did last fall, but lack of funds
still shackles the city's public health
efforts.
1--WE are far too short of nurses to
have an effective school health pro-
gram" admits Dr. Daniel L. Seek
|inger, assistant District health Of
ficer.
AS the new school year ap-
|proaches, the Bureau Of Puhlic
Health Nursing has 118 eff nurce
positions authorized By Congress in
the current budget, of which all but
two are either filled or about to be
Allied by qualified candidates.
With these nurses, the Health De-
|partment must carry out its pro-
gram of maternity and infant care,
venereal disease and tuberculosis
control. and numerous other prob
lens arising in Health Department
clinics as we'll as furnish nurses to
check the health of the city's school
children.
Inadequacy Admitted.
To the latter assignment, DR..
Seckinger expects to allot an aver
age of IS nurses each school day.
That will enable each child in the
District school system to receive
about Is minutes care during the
year.
Inadequate? OF course it is, says
Mrs. Josephine P. Prescott, director
of public health nursing. Lack of
personnel to follow up known physi-
cal defects detected each year in
school children here means that
from 10 to 80 per cent of those de-
fects-teeth that need filling, eyes
that should be tested for glasses
go uncorrected.
A survey of major American cities
made by the District tuberculosis
Association last year placed Wash
ington 51st among SO large cities in
the quantity of school nursing serv-
ice provided. Setting the desired
standard at one nurse per 1000 chill
dren, the survey found Washington
had approximately one health nurse
for 6,7O0 school children.
Even this low figure was based on
an estimate of Is full-time school
nurses. Health department statis-
tics reveal, however, that the school
system got the equivalent of 1447
nurses a day in 1945, but only 668
in 1916. For the first four months
of the last school year, according to
DR.. Seckinger, the only public health
nurses who could be spared for school
work were six nurses assisting doc
tors in giving diphtheria injections.
Authorized Strength Reduced.
The number of staff nurses au-
thorized the local health depart
ment was reduced from ISL in the
1856 budget to the present figure,
118. Efforts by the health depart
ment to increase the total by 10 were
rejected in the last session of Con-
gress. Opponents of any increase
have argued the extra nursing posi-
tions could not have been filled, but
candidates have been more plentiful
since health department nurses were
given professional rating and their
starting pay was boosted to $3.50
this year.
Had the health department got
ten the 10 extra nurses it sought,
80 could have been allotted to the
school system, DR.. Seckinger says
with that number" according to
the health official, I'VE could really
begin an adequate health program. I"
Mrs. Prescott knows exactly the
kind of school health service her de-
partment would like to provide-if
the nurses were available.
Ideally, the nurse should be as
signed regularly to certain schools,
making frequent visits to each of
them and following her inspections
by calling at the homes of children
who need special medical attention.
It was particularly difficult during
the war years to carry out even a
minimum program of this sort, be-
cause with an annual turnover of
more than 40 per cent many nurses
did not stay with the Health De-
partment long enough to become
personally familiar with the health
problems of each youngster in their
care.
With the higher pay rate nurses
may be expected to remain longer
on the Health Department staff,
and those who are assigned to
school duty will have the opportun-
ity to follow each child from the
time he enters school until he
graduates.