74 MILK SURVEY OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER 



children needing it very badly. Milk stations favor congested sections 

 where the baby population need milk station service. 



Q. That is, the stations are located in the most congested districts? 



A. Yes, in those congested districts the milk stations are always 

 within walking distance of any mother in the district. 



Q. Now, were the Milk Committee's expectations realized in the 

 establishment of these stations by any marked effect on infant mortality? 



A. Yes, they- were. 



Q. Suppose you go into that very fully ? 



A. Perhaps we can cover that very briefly by giving the infant mor- 

 tality rate. The rate in New York City for 1906-1910, that is before 

 the milk station period, was 135.8; that is, out of every thousand babies 

 135 died under one year of age; 1911-1915, you recall that the milk 

 station drive was in 1911, the infant mortality rate was 102.2 per thou- 

 sand; in 1916 it was 93.1 ; in 1917, 88.8; in 1918, 917. The milk stations 

 in New York City have helped reduce the infant mortality rate since 1910 

 from 135 to 91. 



By Mr. Pierce: 



Q. How much do these stations cost the city per year ? 



A. The milk stations today are costing the city, each station in 

 round numbers, $3,000 a year; that includes nursing, cleaning, medical 

 and immediate supervision, but does not include the pro rata distribution 

 of the Health Commissioner's salary nor the salary of the Chief Director 

 of the Bureau of Child Hygiene. 



By Mr. North: 



Q. Is that the average cost? 



A. $3,000.00 is the average cost. A station of two hundred babies 

 can get along with one nurse and a part time doctor; a station of six 

 hundred babies will require a nurse, two assistant nurses and a doctor, 

 that has at least two or three clinics a week. 



Q. The salaries of those nurses and doctors are all paid by the city? 



A. Yes. 



Q. Are they open all day or only in the morning ? 



A. They are generally open only in the morning and the nurses are 

 out in the field visiting mothers and babies in the afternoon, until late 

 in the afternoon when they come to the station and fill out their records 



Q. Do the mothers bring the babies to the stations ? 



A. Yes, for the baby clinics. 



Q. Have you got a compilation showing the work that has been 

 performed by these stations and the number of babies that have been 

 taken care of by each station? 



A. I have a very complete cost sheet here of our 31 stations; of 

 course, that does not apply today except in proportion as to what costs 



