98 A HISTORY OF NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION 



LOUISIANA ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS LEAGUE 



The Louisiana Anti-Tuberculosis League was formed in De- 

 cember, 1906, and was one of the first state associations in the 

 south. For many years its activities centered largely about the 

 city of New Orleans, but a number of local associations were 

 formed prior to 1911 in various parishes and in the city of Shreve- 

 port. 



As was the case with several of the state organizations estab- 

 lished before the International Congress, one of the first problems 

 of the Louisiana Anti-Tuberculosis League was the provision of 

 institutional care for cases needing treatment. 



In March, 1908, the tuberculosis camp of the Louisiana Anti- 

 Tuberculosis League was opened. In the same year a tubercu- 

 losis clinic was established. The value of these two pioneer 

 agencies in Louisiana can hardly be fully estimated. They have 

 served as stimuli both to communities in Louisiana and other 

 communities in the south. 



At the present time there are a number of local associations in 

 the state, but only a few of them are actively functioning. Be- 

 sides the sanatorium of the Anti-Tuberculosis League, now known 

 as Camp Hygeia, there is an excellent and up-to-date sanatorium, 

 recently opened at Shreveport, a camp for Negroes and a camp 

 for whites, with a certain amount of provision for both whites and 

 Negroes in the State Charity Hospital at New Orleans. There 

 are twelve public health nurses serving tuberculous cases and two 

 special tuberculosis nurses, besides a number of other nurses. 



A State Commission was provided by act of legislature in 1912. 

 This Commission has plans for the establishment of one or more 

 state sanatoria. The League has recently purchased a property 

 at Greenwell Springs with the intention of giving it over to the 

 Commission for a tuberculosis hospital. 



The death-rate from tuberculosis in Louisiana in 1918 was 

 185.8, and in 1920 it was 141.2. 



The tuberculosis problem is seriously complicated by the large 

 number of Negroes in Louisiana. 



The headquarters of the Louisiana Anti-Tuberculosis League 

 are at 730 Common Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. 



