Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1954-07-14
BY FELIX A. GRIsETTE

Il IL
increases the demand for health
personnel, which is understand
able, because it is the personal
skills of the health workers which
have been primarily responsible
for medicines onward march.
These demands exceed the supply
In all categories of medical person.
mel with the possible exception of
surgeons, and even surgeons are
not readily available in all parts
of the State.
Because each branch of medical
personnel is important unto itself,
this comment will be limited to
trained nursing. The shortage of
the nursing personnel in North
Carolina is particularly accute, al
though it is fair to point out that
more progress has been made in
relieving the shortage in nursing
than in some of the other branches
Of medical personnel. AS the para
graphs which follow point out,
the shortage is particularly alarm
ing in the counties of North Caro-
lima.
1t is difficult to determine the
exact number of active registered
nurses because of the nature of the
profession. 1t is easy enough to
know how many are legally regist-
cred but, unfortunately, not nearly
all nurses who are registered are
actively working. With the posi-
BILE exception of teaching, a larger
percentage of people leave nurs-
ing comparatively soon after enter
ing it than any other type of pro-
fession.
For instance, there are suppos-
eddy about 100000 registered nurs-
es in the United States but only
about $4,000 of them, or about
ID per cent, are actually at work.
In North Carolina, about the same
ratio exists. There are lO,l77 reg
lstered in North Carolina but only
5000 are actively at work.
AS in other types of medical
personnel, North Carolina is be-
low the National average. There
IS one nurse for every 425 people
in the United States, but in North
Carolina there is one nurse for
every 625 people. North Cardinals
rank among the states is thirty
fifth. To the extent that ou rhos-
pltals are stated with nursing
facilities, we rank even lower. Our
hospitals have l6 graduate nurses
for every 100 patients, but Nation
| ally the number is 20 per 100
patients. Our rank among the
states in this respect is thirty
seventh.
A problem in nursing personnel,
as in all medical personnel, is its
geographic distribution. Some sec
lions are over-Staffed and others
under-staffed. The situation in the
100 counties of North Carolina
provides dramatic illustration, of
/ TINS problem. The situation in CO.
lumbus county is bclo wthe State
wide average but it is far from
. '''S NOiS'' iHcie dTe Il tOldl oil 81
active nurses in the county. which
is one for every 1868 persons. The
rank OF the county among the 100
counties of the State is fifth-ninth.
There are "A nurses in the county
licensed TO nurse but seven of
them are not active in their pro-
feSSion.
There are only two Negro nurses
IN the county, about 5 per cent %
tAe total. and yet thc Negro popu-
lation is about 10 per cen. o! the
total.
IN" county with the poo. -
ciiitlcS in terms OF nur.:~. ~prgan-
mel is Yanccy, where there in onl,
one active nurse in the entire CO.
unity. county with population
Of 1896. There arc <wo other
nurses in the county which are
licensed but they are not active
in the profession. There are five
other counties in which there is
only one registered nurse actively
at work, but none Of these five
has as large a population as Yam
cey, which means that their situa-
ton in terms of nurses per peoplc
is not quite so bad as Yancev's.
The five counties arc: Camden.
Clay, Currituck, Graham and Per-
quimans.
Despite the fact that the above
mentioned six counties have ONLY
one nurse actively at work. with |
the exception of Yanccy, they were |
not os bad, in terms of ratio of
nurses to population, as some |
counties with more than one nurse.
Stokes and Caswell. in that order.
although each has two private
nurses at work, are the second and
third worst counties in terms of
nurses per population. In Stokes. !
there is one nurse for every TO-
760 people, and in Caswell there |
is ono for every 10000.
Durham has the best supply of |
nurses Of any county. There are
442 active nurses in Durham coun-
~. which is one nurse for every /
231 persons. The plentiful supply |
in Durham is partially explained |
by the nigh concentration of hos |
pital facilities and nursing educa-