Part 5

When the day camp was established and known as the Red Cross Day Camp, it was planned by the Tuberculosis Committee to have the city take it over or share the expenses, if the experiment should prove worth while. The city very soon recognized the value of the work at the Red Cross Day Camp and the children were admitted through the city tubercular clinics. Gradually the city has taken over more and more of the expenses of the camp, but the boat is still known as the Red Cross Day Camp, and the money made by the sale of the seals pays the remarkably good superintendent of the boat, furnishes carfare to and from the camp, for those patients who cannot afford to pay, and also pays for any special training which the committee deems valuable to the patients. This year a cobbling teacher has been employed to teach the boys how to mend their own shoes; an expert course of corrective exercises was given by a trained man; chair caning was taught and the adults and older girls are taught to sew and mend.

The total number of cases admitted to the boat since the beginning is 965. The curative results have been excellent, especially with the children. At the beginning of the second semester of the school year this session about one-third of the children were pronounced cured and sent back to their regular schools.

[Illustration: OPEN AIR SCHOOL FOR TUBERCULAR CHILDREN, BROOKLYN. N. Y. PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS CHILDREN SLEEPING AFTER LUNCHEON]

In addition to the work of the day camp this year the funds raised by the Red Cross Christmas Seals will be devoted to the open-air classes for anemic children in the public schools. There are open-air classes in eight of the public schools now in Brooklyn. About 300 children attend these classes and all of them are given some extra nourishment in the morning and afternoon and a warm lunch at noon, and some extra clothing was provided by the Board of Education. Special examinations by private physicians, visits to homes, employment of cooks, supervisor, etc., come out of the Red Cross money.

The plan adopted in Brooklyn has been to keep the Red Cross money in a special fund and devote it to some specific work, which interests the thousands of people who buy seals at Christmas time. Without the help of the sale of the seals it would have been impossible to have done some of the most valuable work which has been done for tubercular patients in Brooklyn.

[Illustration: “FERRY BOAT CAMP.” THE SCHOOL AT PLAY.]

First Aid Department

One of the most successful campaigns conducted by the First Aid Department of the American Red Cross has been that on the Missouri-Pacific System, which was completed at Texarkana, Arkansas, on January 4, 1913. It was begun at Omaha, Nebraska, on the September 16, 1912. A great part of the Missouri-Pacific System was covered during the ensuing two months and a half, meetings being held at points in nine different States. The total number of meetings was 234, the total attendance 14,050, and the total travel 5,752 miles. The employes of this railroad system were generally greatly interested in learning first aid. As the direct result of this tour the entire system is to be outfitted with first aid supplies and the instruction of men in their use is to be continued systematically.

It is gratifying to be able to record the fact that in the course of this campaign many public meetings have been held both in Car No. 1 and in town halls. Several opportunities have been offered to speak on first aid at high schools, and in one or two towns this subject will be adopted as part of the curriculum. Many fire and police departments have been represented at meetings as well as a good number of industries.

Dr. Mackey, in charge of Car No. 1 on his arrival at Texarkana, Texas, on January 6, made arrangements to hold meetings at schools, factories, etc., in that town while awaiting a new railroad schedule. The high school and normal school attendance during this period amounted to 995 persons. The school board of Texarkana has adopted first aid to the injured as a regular course of study in the high school. The Y. M. C. A. has installed a complete course and the Texarkana Normal School (colored) has decided to take up this work. On leaving Texarkana on the 17th of January, 1913, Dr. Mackey, with Car No. 1, resumed his railroad work on the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad of Texas. This was continued until the end of February with a total attendance of 2,085, a total of 30 meetings, and a total travel of 1,274 miles.

The hard and continuous service of Car No. 1 during the past three years has finally put it out of commission beyond hope of repair. It is a pleasure to be able to record the fact that the Pullman Company has generously offered to replace this car with a new one which will be larger and better suited to Red Cross purposes. It is expected that this car will be ready for service before this report goes to press. Meanwhile, Dr. Mackey is devoting his time to the various schools and industries in the vicinity of Texarkana, Texas.

After what Dr. Davis, in charge of Car No. 2, characterizes as a splendid campaign over the Philadelphia & Reading System first aid work was taken up for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. This was begun on December 13, 1912, and continued to February 7, 1913. The more important points visited and at which meetings were held were as follows: Jersey City, Perth Amboy, N. J.; Easton. Pa.; Bethlehem, Pa.; Lehighton, Pa.; Hazleton, Pa.; Delano, Pa.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Pittston, Pa.; Sayre, Pa.: Auburn, N. Y.; Manchester, N. Y.; Rochester, N. Y.; Buffalo, N. Y., and Niagara Falls, N. Y. The total number of miles traveled was 916; 72 meetings were held, with a total attendance of 3,105. The interest displayed on the Lehigh Valley has been extremely gratifying.

[Illustration: DR. SHIELDS ILLUSTRATING USE OF RED CROSS TOURNIQUET. THE COMPRESS IN THIS CASE IS A POCKET KNIFE.]

[Illustration: EMPLOYEES OF THE CHESAPEAKE & POTOMAC TELEPHONE CO., WASHINGTON, D. C., UNDER INSTRUCTION IN FIRST AID.]

Dr. Davis also reports that he learned from Mr. J. S. Rockwell, General Agent, Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, that since Car No. 2 covered that system last spring the work has been progressing very favorably under the supervision of the company surgeons. The men and officers are taking an active part in the movement and the results have been strikingly successful, not only in respect to proper handling and dressing of injuries but in a decrease in the number of accidents. A bulletin is posted each month at the different shops making comparison as to the number injured for each plant per number employed. Mr. Rockwell states that it is truly remarkable the way the men from the different shops are vying with each other in doing everything in their power to make their particular shops come out at the end of the month with the fewest injured.

The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad would like very much to have another first aid campaign over its lines with the idea of getting road men thoroughly organized in order that as nearly as possible they may be on a par with the men employed in the shops. The report from this railroad is of the greatest importance as it shows the direction which it is believed first aid should take on railroads generally; first, the prevention of accidents, and, second, their proper care if they do unfortunately occur.

As mentioned in the January RED CROSS MAGAZINE, Dr. M. J. Shields. Field Agent of the First Aid Department of the American Red Cross, has been carrying on a very successful first aid campaign for the Bell Telephone Company, spending from December 3, 1912, to February 12, 1913, with the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania and from February 14 to March 10, covering the Chesapeake and Potomac Company’s plant. Lectures were given in Philadelphia and vicinity, Chester, Westchester, West Grove, Jenkintown, Doylestown, Norristown, Pottstown, and Lancaster in eastern Pennsylvania: Camden, Atlantic City, Burlington, Bridgetown, and Trenton in New Jersey, and at Wilmington and Dover in Delaware.

The following offices of the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania were also visited during January and February: Reading, Allentown, Harrisburg, Altoona, Lewistown, Bellefonte, Williamsport, Sunbury, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Easton, Pittsburgh, Washington, Uniontown, Greensburg, Johnstown, New Kensington, Rochester, New Castle, Greenville, Erie, Warren, Oil City, Bradford, Du Bois, and Butler in Pennsylvania; in West Virginia, Wheeling, Fairmont, Clarksburg and Parkersburg; and in Ohio, Marietta, Urieville, Steubenville, and East Liverpool.

In Chesapeake and Potomac territory, Washington, D. C., Baltimore, Westminister, Frederick, Hagerstown, Queenstown, Salisbury, all in Maryland were reached as well as Norfolk, Richmond, and Lynchburg in Virginia and Thurmond, Charleston, Huntington, and Martinsburg in West Virginia. In all, the number of meetings held was 142, miles traveled 7,500, and attendance 7,950.

Those in attendance at the meetings were principally from the plant department, the men who build and maintain the telephone lines, put up ærial and underground cables, and install ’phones, but at nearly every meeting numbers from the commercial and traffic departments attended. Special talks were given in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington, D. C., to the chief operators (women) and matrons on what to do in sudden illness and emergencies, on how to keep well, and on personal hygiene. Dr. Shields reports that these lectures were well received. He also reports that the subject of accident prevention was taken up and emphasized at each lecture.

Invitations to attend these lectures were extended to the officials and employes of the various electric light, power and street car companies. Also to the Western Union, Postal and American Telegraph and Telephoto companies, with the idea of encouraging a cooperative movement already started of making a safer arrangement of cross-arms and a better spread and less dangerous arrangement of high tension wires on poles jointly used and in underground conduits, thereby cutting down to the minimum the most distressing of accidents—fatal shock on a pole 30 feet in the air or in an 8-foot man hole.

[Illustration: DEMONSTRATION OF FIRST AID TO BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY, PITTSBURGH, “PATIENT”: HAS FRACTURED HIP, FRACTURED LEG AND WOUNDS ON HEAD.]

The press in the towns and cities visited gave the work good publicity both in their news columns and editorials. The _Gazette-Times_ of Pittsburgh, on Sunday, February 16, had a full page with excellent illustrations. The following is an extract from an editorial in the _Westminster Maryland Times_ of February 21:

“Too much cannot be said in praise of the work now being done by the Red Cross in educating people to care for themselves and others in time of accidents. That such work has great economic, as well as sentimental value, is proved by the way the Bell Telephone Companies and other large corporations are spending money to carry on campaigns, with the help of the Red Cross surgeons, that will show their men what they can and should do in the way of giving first aid to the injured, before a doctor can arrive.”

The _Telephone-News_, January 1st, made first aid and accident prevention a leading article. The _Transmitter_, published by the Chesapeake & Potomac Company, in the issue of March 1st had an illustrated article on the first aid Campaign.

Throughout all this work every assistance was given by the officials and men and the work was much appreciated by them. No doubt the interest created will be the means of doing a great deal of good not only among telephone men but with the public generally, as no business comes into closer contact with the public than that of the telephone company.

First Aid in Australia

As another exemplification of the frequent assertion that the earth is not so large after all is a letter which the editor of the RED CROSS MAGAZINE recently received from Australia. Mr. H. Leslie McWhinney, of Auburn, Victoria, in some unexplained way, obtained a copy of the MAGAZINE for October, 1912, and became so interested in the activities of the American Red Cross that he was moved to write the editor. His letter contains so much information relative to the work of the First Aid Volunteer Association in Australia that a portion of it is quoted here, as follows:

“First aid work in Australia is organized and conducted by the St. John Ambulance Association, an English institution, which conducts first aid and nursing classes, and has a permanent ambulance service in most of the capital cities of the six States. It also has an organization called the St. John Ambulance Brigade, consisting of men’s and women’s (nursing) divisions. Sydney and Brisbane have civil ambulances as well. In Melbourne we have the First Aid Volunteer Association, owing allegiance to St. John’s, but acting quite independently of it.

“This association had its origin in the visit of the American fleet in 1908, when this country became wild with enthusiasm and large crowds visited the seaports to see the fleet. The Melbourne City Council, expecting large crowds and many accidents, called for volunteers holding first aid certificates, and a number responded, and rendered good service. Afterwards Mr. W. F. Pratt, our present secretary, suggested that those on duty should form a practice society, and this was done, the First Aid Volunteer Association being formed.

“Our membership has increased from 40 to 110, and is now growing rapidly; the average attendance at weekly meetings ranges from 30 to 40 and at lectures from 60 to 80. We encourage people interested in first aid to visit our meetings and send members out to help class secretaries. We also supply members for first aid duty at large public meetings, exhibitions, missions and other gatherings. Last year our members attended the Scoville Mission for six weeks, treating 44 cases; the Alexander-Chapman Mission (4 weeks), and several other large gatherings. A hygiene exhibition opens in Melbourne next week and we have agreed to supply 12 members a night for four weeks. We make no charge, and our members take no payment. Of course, we are willing to accept donations to our funds, but do not ask for them.

“We have a stretcher and a first class kit and plenty of bandages, besides medical instruments for use on duty by any medical man who happens along. At our monthly outings, which take place out of the city on Saturday afternoons, the secretary prepares a list of accidents, labels various ‘patients,’ and the other members have to work in pairs, being allowed one bandage apiece and having to improvise the others. Average attendance is thirty. We usually do a little propaganda work at these outings, inviting the local class secretaries to bring along their pupils, if any.”

Of course, the readers of the RED CROSS MAGAZINE will understand the difference between this First Aid Society in Australia and the American Red Cross. The First Aid Volunteer Association was organized with only one purpose in view, that of practicing first aid, and one of the conditions of membership is that the applicant must have received a first aid certificate; whereas the activities of the American Red Cross have many ramifications and any reputable citizen of the United States may become a member thereof simply upon the payment of dues. Membership in the First Aid Association in Australia is rather analogous to membership in the classes throughout the United States organized by the First Aid Department of the American Red Cross.

It is interesting to note that the arrival of the American fleet in Australian waters in 1908 was the prime cause for the organization of the First Aid Volunteer Association.

[Illustration: “BROKEN THIGH.” FIRST AID PRACTICE.]

Red Cross Nursing Service

MISS JANE A. DELANO, _Chairman National Committee._

The rapid development of the Nursing Service of the Red Cross and the solidarity of its various activities are encouraging signs of future growth and more extended usefulness.

Our state and local committees of nurses, organized primarily for the enrollment of Red Cross nurses, have responded with enthusiasm whenever new demands have been made upon them. We now have more than five hundred representative nurses serving on these committees throughout the United States, and their co-operation and interest may be depended upon to further any work undertaken by the Red Cross. They have been most active in the sale of Christmas Seals and have co-operated with local tuberculosis agencies, often serving on special committees. In organizing our Rural Nursing Service we have sought their advice and assistance. They have suggested nurses for rural work and have given valuable information in regard to the needs of their own communities. Further details concerning this important service is given by Miss Clement, superintendent of rural nurses.

Our local committees are found ready to assist in relief work at celebrations and parades, and appreciate the opportunities for experience thus offered. The District of Columbia committee, of which Miss Anna J. Greenlees is chairman, secured the nurses required for relief stations established in Washington during inaugural week. A report of the work of these stations appears in this number of the MAGAZINE.

The National Committee on Nursing Service, in co-operation with the First Aid Department, has been authorized by the Red Cross to organize classes of instruction for women in Home Nursing and First Aid. Once more we must appeal to our local committees of nurses for their assistance. The plan adopted requires that the instruction in Home Nursing shall be given by enrolled Red Cross nurses, who must, in a large measure, be secured through the local committees. As the work develops we hope that nurses especially qualified to instruct women in the principles of right living and the home care of the sick may be found willing to devote their whole time to this instruction. Even two classes a day would give a fair income and an opportunity to render valuable service to a community. Information concerning these classes for women is given in this issue by Miss Oliver, in charge of their organization.

Believing that the course in first aid adopted by the Red Cross would be valuable even to graduate nurses, arrangements have been made with the First Aid Department to allow enroled Red Cross nurses to take this course at home. The textbook written by Major Charles Lynch must be used, and nurses who so desire will be allowed to take an examination under the direction of a physician appointed by the Red Cross. To those who pass this examination a Red Cross First Aid Certificate will be issued.

RURAL NURSING

MISS FANNIE F. CLEMENT, _Superintendent of Rural Nurses._

Before the Red Cross entered the field of rural nursing several attempts were made to extend this work on a broad plan into the country districts. After the Peace Conference, held at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1905, the Russian and Japanese envoys made a gift of $20,000 to the State, to be used for charitable purposes. At this time several persons who realized that rural nursing was an important factor in the improvement of social conditions tried to have this sum used in establishing a state-wide system. It was not possible, however, to convince those in authority that this would be the best disposition of the gift. It was the aim of the Holman Association, incorporated in 1911, “for the promotion of rural nursing, hygiene and social service.” to expand as resources permitted to meet the needs of rural communities in the United States, but the society has recently been disbanded.

There are but few instances where rural nursing has been extended by a single organization to cover any considerable area. A pioneer work was started seventeen years ago in North Westchester county, New York, where the District Nursing Association now employ six nurses and covers about twenty villages. Gradually new districts in the surrounding territory are being opened up by the association.

There are, however, several individual nurses meeting the needs of rural communities, and often under trying conditions. In isolated regions they are cut off from helpful association with others doing similar work and the stimulus that comes from identification with an extensive organized effort. The Red Cross has planned a service of which these nurses may become a part, which will assist them to establish and maintain high standards.

Rural nursing as it now exists is generally carried on under the supervision of a committee which may include several sub-committees. These are responsible for various branches of the nurses’ work. Wherever such committees are able to arouse a general interest much has been accomplished not only in behalf of public health, but in many lines of public welfare work.

It is expected that in the development of Red Cross rural nursing, local committees will be created, meeting standards of salary and other regulations which are deemed necessary to insure the best interests of a community. The locality benefitted by the work of a nurse is expected to meet the expenses connected with it. Fees collected from patients are not sufficient for this, as all sick persons are not able to pay for the services of the nurse. As a rule, patients are expected to pay for professional visits, according to their means, but those unable to make any payments should not go uncared for. The responsibility for raising the necessary funds rests with the local committee, which also superintends the work of the nurse.

A general supervision by the Red Cross is maintained through occasional visits of the superintendent of rural nurses and through monthly reports of their work.

During the 1910 Red Cross Christmas Seal sale, the Anti-Tuberculosis Association of Wisconsin, offered the services of a visiting nurse for one month to twelve cities of a limited population, making the highest per capita sale. The Red Cross Seal Committee of Ohio, in 1912, sent a visiting nurse for one month to each of twelve small cities throughout the State as a prize in the seal-selling contest. Interest in visiting nursing was thus stimulated to a degree that several of these towns have since been insisting upon a permanent nurse, and have raised funds necessary for her support.

Hospitals, dispensaries and medical attendance are seldom as accessible in the country as in cities. To have the rural nurse a resident in the community, her services for all regardless of any lines of distinction, to have intelligent nursing care for patients in their own homes, and instruction and demonstration given in the principles of hygiene, not only of person but as applied to home surroundings, are advantages which have been appreciated wherever the visiting nurse is established.

The best physicians have welcomed her assistance. No stronger testimony to the value of her services is needed than the present demand for public health workers in connection with industrial establishments, department stores, religious and civic institutions and health departments of city, town and county.

Women of the finest type are needed for this work and those who have had specialized training in public health activities. Several visiting nursing associations to be utilized as training centers for Red Cross nurses offer good opportunities for students to become familiar with social work of various kinds through lectures, study courses and affiliations with philanthropic societies in the city. Nurses may thus come in contact with milk stations, dispensaries, tuberculosis and charity organization societies, settlements and other social agencies.