Page 2
Duke Hospital, InterGom
e t’
&upt i ) 1^1
Lotnet
By Charles H. Prenzel
A new academic year has begun
and it is once again time to heartily
welcome the new students and staff
to the Duke University Medical Cen
ter. Over two hundred students for
the health professions have entered
our midst in the past month and we
are once again made acutely aware
of our responsibilities to provide the
proper environment and climate for
their educational experiences at Duke
University. The cliallenge of practic
ing their health profession in the
complex health organizations of the
future is a great one, but our chal
lenge of preparing them adequately
for their tasks is of immediate con
cern to each and every member of the
Medical Center staff.
Once again this fall we find our
selves with an acute .shortage of many
categories of specialized personnel.
There is little solace in the fact that
we are not alone in this situation. We
nuist, however, realize that these
shortages mean that there is need for
greater cooj)eration and understand
ing than if we were adequately
staffed.
A program has begun to in.stall fire
extinguishers in conspicuous and
available locations throughout the
Medical Center. Instruction in the
use of these extinguishers is under
way. I hope that you will all be
come aware of their locations and
avail yourselves of instruction in
their use.
Attention:
Duke Auxiliary Members
We are happy to announce
that the October Membership
Meeting will feature a presenta
tion “Know Your Hospital.”
Each department head will tell
about his part of the hospital and
how the auxiliary helj)s it. This
should be an informative and in
teresting session. Be siire to plan
to attend.
Saved— A Life a Day
(Continued from page 1)
mation on the contents and treatment
for the substance one of their little
patients has just swallowed.
The pithering and dispersing of in
formation, then is the primary job
of Duke’s Poison Control Center.
Up-to-date files are kept listing the
ingredients of the various products
and medicines one nught have around
the house that could prove harmful
to a child or an adult. This is some
thing the local doctor cannot possibly
keep up witli. Once it is established
what the child has ingested, })roper
treatment is suggested. This may well
include use of the more than 40 fresh,
alwaj^s ready, antidotes that Duke
stocks. A follow-up of each inquiry
is kept.
Education of j)arents and physi
cians and older children is a constant
battle Dr. Arena wages. As far as he
knows, he says, there isn’t a single
PTA group in town that hasn’t heard
his poison jirevention talk. And while
the major resi)onsibility is on the
parents to keep kerosene. Flit, lye
and other such items conipletely out
of the reach of children, enlightened
legi.slatiou and cooperation of manu
facturers can helj) greatly in this
fight. Dr. Arena’s group developed
the .safety closure cap you’re all
familiar with on the children’s aspi
rin bottles. It is his hope that all bot
tles containing medicine will soon use
tliese caps. Most j)romising of all
probably, is legislation which the
group concerned with this problem
luis j)uslied for nuuiy years. This law
(Hazardous Substance Act), enacted
in 19()0, re(|uires manufacturers to
label their product clearly when any
substance in it is harmful.
Other than this, all that can be
done is preach, preach, i)reach to par
ents that bottles and cans are just as
dangerous to their children as are
bi'oken glass and cai’s. In this regard,
Di'. Arena’s energy is never ending,
lie strongly feels that most of these
ti'agic deaths can be prevented and
tries hard to convince you and me of
this, too.
Duke’s Poison Control Center is a
service to our community, state and
nation that everyone at Duke can be
proud of and also can benefit from in
a very close-to-home way. Many of
you have children or grandchildren
in the curious, fearless, most suscei)ti-
From
The
Auxiliary
By Carolyn Hackney
We miss the flash of the pepper
mint smock of our Junior Volunteers
who gave uj) beach parties and pay
ing jobs to favor us with their cheery
smiles and willing hearts to work in
every nook of the hosj)ital.
The duties of these junior “Flor
ence Nightingales” included ward
service where they took temperatures,
made up beds and filled water j)itch-
ers; ])ushing the Shop Cart to all
wards so that i>atients coidd buy
magazines, candy and cigarettes.
They also completed charts, filed rec
ords and sat at the Infornuition Desk
in the O.P.C. They served as guides
to the many dej)artments throughout
the hospital, manned the library cart
and helped at the coffee counter. In
fact, they filled in anywhere they
were needed and it is easy to see how
they piled up the phenomenal figure
of 4658 hours of service. Most girls
dealt in only one service, but a few
were so enthusiastic that they trained
for two or three jobs aiul gave as
nmch as 250 hours individually dur
ing the three months.
Mrs. Mary McColm’s (O.P.D.
Supervisor of Nursing) opinion of
the girls was heard throughout the
hosi>ital, “We’ve always been ])leased
to have the Junior Auxiliary girls in
the O.P.(J. These girls are enthusias
tic workei's and always try to learn
all that the luirses and administrative
])ersonnel can teach them. It was our
pleasure to have the.se young ladies
through a long and busy summer.”
ble age group of 2 to 4. If .so, is your
home 100% safe? All it takes is one
forgotten bottle of asjjirin left open,
or the remains of some insecticide
that you put in a coke bottle to save,
and you have a very seriously ill or
dead child. Let’s hope you never
have need of it, but it is comforting
to know that we have Dr. Arena and
his Poison Control Center on the job
24 hours a day giving life-saving in
formation to just about one patient
))er day.