JOSEPH S. NEFF, M. D. 157 



parents. Committees were organized in different sections of 

 the city to visit young mothers and give home instruction. The 

 result of this movement was to a degree shown in the sum- 

 mer's work in the reduction of 8 per cent, in the deaths of 

 infants as compared with the preceding year. Feeling that ir- 

 respective of the admirable work done by many of these volun- 

 teers, professionals would be more effective, the Philadelphia 

 Bureau of Municipal Reasearch offered to supply to the Depart- 

 ment of Public Health and Charities a corps of professional nurses 

 in order to demonstrate by actual results to the legislative 

 branch of the government the necessity of appointing a corps 

 of municipal nurses, asked for in the budget for several years, 

 as a first step toward the formation of a Division of Child 

 Hygiene. This thought being shared by representatives of 

 other private associations, by a co-operation of all, a larger move- 

 ment was instituted in the early spring of the present year 

 (1910) in the organization of a "Conference on Summer Work 

 for Mothers and Children." A remarkable publicity campaign 

 was instituted in which six newspapers of the city gave much 

 space; two hundred stories under leaded head-lines, comprising 

 85 columns being published in the months of May, June and 

 July, which created great interest and added to the size and 

 enthusiasm of a public meeting, arising from which an Execu- 

 tive Committee was appointed, consisting of a representative 

 from each of the more active private associations. The Chief 

 Executive of the city presided at the general meeting and was 

 so much impressed with the importance of the work that he 

 immediately wrote an urgent message to the legislative body 

 asking for an appropriation to organize and maintain a corps 

 of nurses, which was granted, and became effective July 1st. 

 Thus progress was made toward the creation of the desired 

 Division of Child Hygiene in the Department of Public Health 

 and Charities. 



A directory was published of agencies engaged in the general 

 work, with suggestions for utilizing the facilities available; a 

 Bureau was organized for registration of cases and exchange 

 of information between the agencies, with a view of preventing 

 unnecessary duplication and providing for adequate attention to 

 all of the urgent needs of mothers and children. In this move- 

 ment there were represented : 20 day nurseries ; 22 settlements 

 and neighborhood social betterment agencies, having facilities 

 such as baths, camps, mothers' clubs, milk stations, etc. ; 8 agen- 

 cies providing temporary shelter for mothers and children; 10 

 modified milk stations ; 55 hospitals and dispensaries ; 30 asso- 

 ciations providing convalescent care or outings ; 21 agencies 

 visiting and inquiring into the needs of mothers and children in 



