? ? *
Requested Health Funds Would Provide Nurse For 2 Counties
Doctor Says New Nurse
Could Serve Macon-Jackson
Passage of an appropriations request by the General Assembly
to provide additional funds for health departments in the state's
100 counties will pave the way for the employment of a nurse to
divide her time between Jackson and Macon.
Dr. Guy V. Gooding, health officer for the Macon-Jackson-Swain
district, this week estimated that Macon County alone stands to
receive $2,465 from the requested appropriation of $468,000. This
amount, coupled with Jackson's, would provide for the extra
nurse and also some salary boosts
for other employes of the district,
he said.
Clearing Out
Meanwhile, as the scene shifts
to Raleigh and the anticipated
generosity of the lawmakers, staff
members of the Macon County
Department of Public Health are
clearing out the last reminders
of 1956. The department's annual
report was scheduled to go into
the mails this week.
Marked Advances
Now behind them is a year of
marked advances in public health
fields. Under its program, the
health center administered 5.289
anti-polio shots during 1956; super
vised 31 tuberculosis cases and
227 tubercular contacts: held
monthly general clinics and sev
eral specialized ones; and super
vised the general health conditions
of the county, ranging from an
expanded program of health edu
cation in the schools to milk con
trol in dairies.
Great Advance
Probably the greatest single ad
vance was providing chest X-ray
service to all foodhandlers, tuber
cular cases, and tubercular con
tacts, according to Mrs. Frank
Shope, senior public health nurse.
The health center's X-ray ma
chine, which was installed in late
1955, Is used exclusively for the
detection of tuberculosis. A charge
of )2 is made for the service to
foodhandlers. Cost of handling
indigent patients suspected of
having tuberculosis and providing
the X-ray service to all school
children is borne by the state
tuberculosis association.
- 9 New Cases
Of the 31 TB cases on file at
the health center, nine were new
in 1956 and the rest were hold
overs from prior years, the nurse
explained this week. Eleven of the
cases were classed as "active",
with eight of the patients hos
pitalized in sanatoriums and three
under treatment at their homes. I
Are Supervised
Mrs. Shope said each of the 227
tubercular contacts ? those who
have Been in contact with known
"active" cases ? in Macon County
are kept under constant super
vision and report at intervals to
the health center for either X-rays
or skin tests.
As an example of how each
active tubercular case is kept in
check by the health department,
the nurse said 58 new contacts
were put on file along with the
nine new tuberculars discovered
during the year.
368 Tested
A total of 449 X-rays were made
at the center under the tuber
culosis detection program. Also.
368 persons were given tuberculin
tests, with 15 showing up as
"positive" and>353 as "negative".
Foremost among the basic
functions of the health center
are special clinics for the public.
General Clinic
A general clinic is held every
Thursday from 9 a. m. to 4:30
p. m., with the district health
officer in charge.
Held in conjunction^ with the
general clinic is 4n X-ray-clinic,
?with hours of 9- a. m. to noon.
A generak clinic also is held by
the staff of the health center the
first Wednesday of each month in
Highlands at the high school.
Hours are 1 to 3 : 30 p. m.
Nantahala has its general clinic
the second Wednesday of each
month at Nantahala School. Hours
also are 1 to 3:30.
Baby Clinic
Dr. R. D. Daniels. Sylva pedi
| atrician, conducts a well baby
clinic for the three-county district
every third Wednesday in the
month at C. J. Harris Community
Hospital.
As of the first of the year,
Macon County had 22 "regulars"
among the young set attending
this special clinic. This number
Gortons "do
main course:
J
4
Generous
Portions
in Bike V
Serve
Aluminua Tray
1
FISH STEAKS Yi?ChMM Sauce
FISH STEAKS in Temits Sauce
FILET of SOLE ia Lama* Bitter Sauce
FILET ef FLOUNDER ia Mathreem Sauce
DIXIE-HOME STORES
Your Famous Food Store
choice, m
\ WHITMAN'S
/ NORMS'
VALENTINE CARDS
PERRY'S DRUG STORE
Serving Macon County Since 1887
PHONE 82 FRANKLIN, N. C.
POLIO SHOTS have been an important part of the health
center's program in the past year. Here Mrs. Frank Shope, senior
public health nurse, is 'giving a booster to Lavaunda Miller, 11, a
fifth grader at Cullasaja School.
represented 75 visits to Sylva for
treatment during 1956.
Also as a district service, an
orthopedic clinic is held every
third Saturday at the Bryson City
Health Center beginning at 9
a. m. for the treatment of patients
from Macon. Jackson, and Swain.
Mrs. Shope represents the local
department at the clinic.
Cancer Clinic
Of major importance also is the
operation of a cancer detection
clinic (for the six western coun
ties) every Friday at C. J. Harris
Community Hospital, beginning at
9 a. m.
Participation so far from Macon
County has been "very low" m
the district's newest clinic for
heart cases, according to Dr.
Gooding. He attributes this, how
ever, almost entirely to the new
ness of the clinic which opened
in December and which is held
every second and fourth Friday
at the Sylva health department.
Heart Cases
Sponsored by heart associations
on local and state levels and by
?the N. C. Department of Public
Health, the new clinic is set up
primarily to detect rheumatic and
other heart conditions in both
children and adults.
Dr. Gooding said medicine is
furnished free for indigent pa
tients. Those who can afford to
pay are referred to private phy
sicians for treatment, he added.
School Work
Health supervision of infants,
pre-schoolers, and school children
is another important function ot
the health department. Its "po
tential" population (estimated) of
those one to four years of age is
1,685: five to 17 years, 4,808; and
18 to 20 years, 636.
During '56, Mrs. Shope reports
that 23 new infants less than a
month old received nurse super
vision from the department out
side of regular child health con
ferences.
"Parents Just dropped into the
center with most of them," she
explained.
One hundred and twenty new
babies over a month old also "were
taken in" and the nurse made 193
visits outside of regular confer
ences.
Cripple Aid
Eighty-six cases are in the
health center's file under service
to cripple children. About half
of these are polio victims, the
nurse said, and 49 of them regu
larly attended the Bryson City
orthopedic clinic during the year.
Four of the cases involved chil
dren under a yt'ar old. The nurse
Re-Cap
At small cost, our re-cap
job will add many months
and miles of SAFE driving
to the life of your tires.
RICKMAN'S
Tire and Radiator Shop
Palmer Street
made 194 visits in connection with I
this service. *
Visits Schools
Under the heading of "school 1
sanitation". Sanitarian H. T. !
Collins made 73 visits to the
county's 11 schools during 1956
to inspect facilities.
In inspecting water and sewer ,
setups, he approved 74 water in
stallations, 87 sanitary privies, 52 ,
septic tanks, 30 sewer connections,
and 25 water connections.
On private premises, he made
111 visits In connection with j
water supply and 122 in regard
to sewage disposal.
Mr. Collins investigated 187
sanitary complaints over the
county and reports he secured 184
corrections.
In grading and inspecting, the
sanitarian made 72 visits to three
slaughter houses; 250 visits to the
county's 22 restaurants and cafes:
65 visits to the frozen -food con
cern in Franklin; 49 to the coun
ty's three hospitals; 44 to the 10
hotels; 76 to the 12 tourist courts
in operation; 18 to two tourist
homes; 86 to two meat markets;
and 65 to the school system's
nine lunchrooms.
Visits in the interest of milk
control totaled 272 at seven pro
ducer dairies.
Inspects Pool
Mr. Collins also made five in- j
spectlons of the swimming pool
at the golf course during the
season.
Laboratory services also are
available through the health cen
ter, although specimens must bo
6ent away for analysis.
The annual report shows the
center processed 91 water exami
nations; 334 for milk; 427 for
blood; 39 for paracities; and 21
tuberculosis cultures.
3 Fall-Time
Macon's health center is staffed
with three full-time employes, Mrs.
Shope. the public health nurse:
Mr. Collins, the sanitarian; and
a clerk, Mrs. Alice Buchanan, who
is now on leave of absence.
The district health officer. Dr.
Gooding, divides his time equally
between Macon, Jackson, and
Swain.
Plans services
In general terms, the health
officer is the administrative head
of the local health department
and plans its services. In. Dr.
Gooding's case, he also functions
as an X-ray technician. Under
the law, the health officer is
charged with seeing that all first
graders receive physical exami
nations and that children referred
to the department by teachers re
ceive the necessary attention.
Duties Many
Briefly, although her duties are
many and varied, the public health
nurse has the responsibility of
carrying out the public health
nursing services in homes, schools,
and clinics.
The sanitarian has the job ol
overseeing all sanitary functions
within the county, including
dairies, eating e stablishments, and
private and public dwellings.
Is 'Hostess'
"Hostess" of the health center
is the clerk, who also serves as
deputy registrar of vital statistics
and general filing clerk for the
center and its services.
Locally, the health and educa
tion programs of the health cen
ter are done cooperatively with
the following organizations and
agencies: Lions Club. P.-T.A.'s,
home demonstration, .county a
gent, American Red Cross, board
of education, tuberculosis associ
ation. Rotary Club, heart associ
ation. cancer society, polio chap
ter, League for Crippled Children,
and Asheville Mental Hygiene
Clinic.
Macon's health center is located
on Riverview Street, across from
Angel Hospital It was opened in
Nov., 1954, and was financed with
local and state funds totaling
$29,181.35.
? Pr*aa staff Phot*
MEETING THE PUBLIC is another service performed by the health center. Sanitarian H. T.
Collins (left) is shown talking about his work with members of R. A. Byrd's eighth grade at
Union School. The Union students also visited the local creamery the same day as part of a work
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