A report on state public health work based on a survey of State Boards of Health / by Charles V. Chapin.

  • Charles V. Chapin
Date:
[1915]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A report on state public health work based on a survey of State Boards of Health / by Charles V. Chapin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    30/238 (page 18)
    ILLINOIS Illinois is among the few states in which the State Board of Health is the Examining Board for Physicians. The plan has not seemed to work well here in the past as this function of the board has received undue attention as compared with its more strictly public health work. Perhaps, partly owing to this examining function, internal controversies in the state medical association seem to have involved the department and it must be recognized that medical politics as well as state politics may greatly hamper public health administration. Although the expenses of the department were something over $100,000 in 1914, about one quar- ter of this sum was expended for the examination and licensing of phy- sicians, midwives and embalmers. There is no satisfactory law for the registration of births, marriage? and deaths and mortality statistics are in a more unsatisfactory condi- tion in Illinois than in any of the states of the Middle West. [See below for supplementary statement.] Local health organization throughout the state is generally poor. This is usually the case in rural communities, but it is said that very few, even of the cities, possess an active health organization and it is worthy of note that some of these departments are supported almost entirely by private endowment. • u u Communicable diseases are reported rather better than might be expected, but in the absence of mortality statistics it is difficult to deter- mine just how complete notification really is, but outside of the large cities it is far from satisfactory. New regulations for morbidity reports have recently gone into effect which ought to enable the state depart- ment of health to exercise a more efficient control. The epidemiologic work of the department, as well as some sanitary inspection, is being attempted by three medical inspectors who give only a part of their *^^'™There is a diagnostic laboratory at Springfield, but compared with the amount of communicable disease it is not doing nearly enough work. The department is anxious to establish branch laboratories but probab y the usefulness of the existing laboratory could be very considerably increased. . • r i ^ The department distributes diphtheria antitoxin freely to every one who needs it, at a cost last year of $29,000. Typhoid vaccine, also, is distributed and prophylactic packets for ophthalmia are now being sent out. Antirabic treatment is provided for the mdigent at the Pasteur Institute in Chicago. . , ^.i • ^ . . „ Tuberculosis has just been made reportable. There is no state san- atorium and few local hospitals, though there is a permissive law for hospitals in cities. The active state association is in cordial relation with ^^^OccupSal diseases are reportable to the health department under a law which does not appear to be very effective, but the sole function of the department seems to be to transmit them as soon as received to the factory inspector. , , , j. ^ , Illinois has no adequate water and sewage law, but the s ate water survey, in connection with the University, has done most excellent wor..