A HISTORY OF HEALTH IN DENVER

Transcription

1 A HISTORY OF HEALTH IN DENVER BUREAU OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS West 6th Ave and Cherokee Sts DENVER, COLORADO

2 PREFACE TWENTY UNCERTAIN YEARS 1927-Code Revision voted to 1916 charter No quaifications specified for manager of Heath and Charities The foundation was aid for 20 years during which ay persons of varying interest and abiity directed service incuding Denver Genera Hospita, the Denver Farm, and garbage coection 1927-The newy formed Denver Pubic Heath Counci conducted a survey and suggested Reorganize the Heath Activities in Denver, Coorado The first faiure by a group of interested citizens 1939-Denver Pubic Heath Counci attempted to get a merit system estabished in the Department of Heath and Charity This effort faied! 1943-A citizens group with the assistance of the United States Pubic Heath Service requested organized heath services And this effort faied! 1946-Dr Car Buck and Dr Forence Sabin spearhead drive for statewide heath program The State adopted a program But Denver as a home rue city, remained aoof 1947-The Buck report on Coorado s Heath was presented to the annua meeting of the Unity Counci The oca press took the torch, and backed by other interested individuas and groups succeeded in persuading the administration to get Dr Edward McGavran to make a oca survey simiar to Dr Buck s state survey Pubic interest in pubic heath measures was beginning to be fet 1947-The newy eected mayor had pedged his administration to impementing the 30 page McGavran Report, which charged- It might be truthfuy said that Denver does not have a heath department- and of Denver Genera Hospita - In an organization sense it may be said that the hospita does not exist AND SO A HEALTH DEPARTMENT WAS BORN TWENTY tincertain YEARS

3 HEADLINES TELL THE STORY OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR June 1, 1947-City Administration Changes June 2, 1947-Dr S S Kauvar Agrees to Become Manager of Heath and Charity for 6 months June 5, 1947-Dr Loyd Forio Accepts Temporary Appointment as Heath Officer This team, one surrendering a ucrative practice and the other a coege position--took over the job of compete reorganization of Denver s pubic heath faciities August 20, 1947-Lewis Dodson Named Director of Sanitation Headines procaimed Rats Overrunning City August 27, 1947-Dr Angeo Lapi Named Medica Examiner September 1, 1947-Dr Ward Chadwick Becomes Director of Communicabe Disease Contro September 17, 1947-Miss Eveyn Rahm Loaned by USPHS To Direct Heath Education October 1, 1947-Dr James P Dixon Appointed Medica Director of Denver Genera Hospita December 9, 1947-Dr Ruth J Raattama Named Director of Materna and Chid Heath Newspaper stories stressed rat contro and food handers courses; but of more importance was that during this six month period- 1 A contract had been made with the Coorado University Medica Schoo, making Denver Genera a teaching faciity 2 A non-poitica board of heath had been appointed 3 A medica examiner system had repaced the antiquated coroner system 4 Staff was rapidy being assembed to make a rea heath department December 23, 1947-Dr Forence Sabin Repaces Dr Kauvar As Manager of Heath and Charity Dr Sabin, a native Cooradoan, retired from an outstanding medica career-took the hem Dr Xauvar, having given six months of exceent eadership during a critica period, returned to his prac- I tice Apri 1, 1948-Appointments announced incude- Dr R M Sorenson, Director of Venerea Disease Contro; Dr David Reisner, Director of Tubercuosis Contro; and Mary Emberton, Director of Pubic Heath Nursing Headines in March indicated great concern over substandard mik! Rat poisoning was going fu bast-and so were food handers courses at Oppor- tunity Schoo But most important was the amagamation of the 59 year od Visiting Nurse Association with the heath department nursing staff Dr Nayor wrote an editoria on the possibiity of a rabies epidemic, and the kids at Teer Schoo compained that the dog catcher was taking his work too seriousy May 6, 1948-Merged Heath and Hospita Services to be headed by Dr James P Dixon announced SO THE FIRST YEAR SAW (1) Order come to Denver Genera Hospita (2) The creation of a pubic heath department containing a basic pubic heath services (3) The combining of heath and hospita services to better meet the tota heath needs of the community A YEAR OF HEADLIMES

4 A YEAR OF SERVICE The year 1949 found Denver Bureau of Heath and Hospitas affiiated with Coorado University Schoo of Medicine, and working with the community s physicians in seeing that every person in Denver received medica care, and was protected from heath hazards This year aso saw adequate housing furnished for the preventive heath services THE PROGRAM FOR 1949 INCLUDED: Medicu Care For The Indigent-suppemented by staff ossistance from Denver s practicing physicians vaued at $500,000 *Preventive Heath Services-aided by ay assistnce vaued at $60,000, and professiona hep at $75,000 Education of Heath Personne- This program was carried out in cooperation with the University of Coorado, Rocky Mountain Training Center and Opportunity Schoo MEDICAL CARE INCLUDED: At Denver Genera Hospita 140,477 days care to 8,914 patients 28,121 patients given emergency care 36,049 out-patients treated 3,697 surgica operations At Denver Farm * 38,537 days care to 170 chronicay i Fied Nursing * 13,790 nursing visits to 1,616 i persons Quaity of service is hard to describe-but no onger was Denver Genera Hospita described as the ast step before the morgue Affiiation with the medica schoo aong with the necessary higher standards; and having the best physicians in town as a vounteer staff, made a great difference in medica care PREVENTIVE SERVICES INCLUDED: We Chid Service 5,062 chidren cared for in 23 stations 11,258 infant nursing visits 9,877 pre-schoo nursing visits * 13,241 parochia schoo chid inspections 1,578 parochia schoo chid physica exams 8,749 parochia schoo chid denta exams Mother s Assistance 4,529 prenata fied visits 4,306 post-nata fied visits Communiccrhe Disease Contro * 1,077 nursing visits 2,832 Tubercuosis nursing visits 801 V D nursing visits * 1,949 persons immunized against smapox 2,561 persons immunized against diphtheria 1450 persons immunized against whooping cough 1,348 persons immunized against tetanus 733 persons immunized against typhoid 233,994 persons given sma chest x-rays Sanitation Genera 8,005 compaint inspections 1,544 rat and rodent surveys 117 mosquito and insect surveys 1,055 water sampes tested Mik * 1,842 pant inspections and surveys 4,603 farm surveys * 2,986 attendance at 76 farm meetings 27,863 mik sampes tested * 698 ice cream sampes tested Food 11,772 inspections of estabishments I) 927 food handers trained 214 food and meat sampes tested Meat 163,890 animas inspected Notabe accompishments in preventive services incuded: 1 The first x-ray survey in the United States to incude compete diagnosis Foow-up for utimate medica care was immediatey instituted 2 A continuous rat proofing and eradication program 3 Twenty three we baby stations furnishing we chid supervision for over 5,000 chidren 4 A mik contro program that raised the rating from 62% in 1947 to 88% in A food contro program that raised restaurant ratings from 49% in 1947 to 74% in 1949 EDUCATKON FACILITIES WERE PROVIDED FOR: Training of: * 16 medica interns * 125 medica residents * 127 medica students * 45 nurses * 6 x-ray technicians Fied experience for: - 55 in pubic heath nursing * 46 in sanitation 20 in aboratory technoogy * 10 in physica and occupationa therapy * 4 in pubic heath education 1 in hospita administration 1 in medica socia service Community heath is dependent upon adequate heath personne The private physicians nurses, and other speciaists aong with private hospitas, are responsibe for the arger part of the community s medica care The Bureau of Heath and Hospitas fees that providing training faciities (1) heps the community to obtain more heath personne, and (2) enabes the medicay indigent to get better medica care, because of the additiona resources avaiabe in a training faciity A YEAR OF SERVICE

5 AND WHAT NEXT? The Bureau of Heath and Hospitas is proud of the Good Government Award from the Nationa Junior Chamber of Commerce for: sanitation improvement; eadership in the recent x-ray survey; enforcement of communicabe disease aws; increased effectiveness of Visiting Nurses and Materna and Chid Heath programs; and improved management of Denver Genera Hospita, but fee that fufiing the obigation for sti better community heath means- -seeing that every cent of your tax money is used with wisdom and care in providing as much good heath service as possibe -continuing to work with Denver s physicians to improve Denver s heath -encouraging teamwork of a agencies invoved in chid care -emphasizing care of peope rather than merey curing disease This cas for *Better out-patient services *More menta heath services *Encouraging more good convaescent homes, day care centers, and boarding homes *Taking services to the peope through branch offices *More visiting nurses *Repacing obsoete portions of hospita buidings *Improved faciities for the heath of mothers and chidren Some of these cost money-others depend upon administrative abiity and cooperative effort The Bureau of Heath and Hospitas pedges itsef to provide the best service possibe with the resources avaiabe But remember- Denver s Heath Depends On Your Support! Your Heath Is In Your Hands! DENVER BUREAU OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS Quigg Newton Mayor Forence S&tin, MD, Manager, Heath and Charity BOARD OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS S S Kauvar, MD, Ch rman Kenneth D A Aen, MD Hugh B Terry f Kenneth E Oberhotzer Mark Harrington Mrs John 1 Suivan Gerad B Peters James P Dixon, MD, Director