DIRECTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OFFICES Headquarters: S. W. Corner Centre and Walker Streets, Borough of Manhattan Borough of The Bronx, 3731 Third Avenue. Telephone, 1975 Tremont. Office Hours-9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12 m. LABORATORIES Telephone, 4400 Flatbush. CLINICS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN Hours: 2-5 p. m. Saturdays, 9-12 m. Manhattan-Gouverneur Slip. Telephone, 2916 Orchard. Pleasant Avenue and 118th Street. Telephone, 972 Harlem. P. S. 144 Hester and Allen Streets. Telephone, 5960 Orchard. 1249 Herkimer Street. Telephone, 2684 East New York. The Bronx-580 East 169th Street. Telephone, 2558 Tremont. Richmond-689 Bay Street. (Dental only). Telephone, 686 W. Tompkinsville. Manhattan-Centre and Walker Streets. Week days, 9 to 10 a.m. 307 West 33d Street. Wednesdays, 8 to 9 p.m. TUBERCULOSIS CLINICS Manhattan-West Side Clinic, 307 West 33d Street. Telephone, 3471 Murray Hill. Harlem Italian Clinic, 420 East 116th Street. Telephone, 2375 Harlem. Southern Italian Clinic, 22 Van Dam Street. Telephone, 412 Spring. Day Camp, Ferryboat "Middletown," foot of East 91st Street. Telephone, 2957 Lenox. The Bronx-Northern Clinic, St. Pauls Place and Third Avenue. Telephone, 1975 Tremont. Southern Clinic, 493 East 139th Street. Telephone, 5702 Melrose. Brooklyn-Main Clinic, Fleet and Willoughby Streets. Telephone, 4720 Main. Germantown Clinic, 55 Sumner Avenue. Telephone, 3228 Williamsburg. Brownsville Clinic, 64 Pennsylvania Avenue. Telephone, 2732 East New York. Eastern District Clinic, 306 South 5th Street, Williamsburg. Telephone, 1293 Williamsburg. Queens-Jamaica Clinic, 10 Union Avenue, Jamaica. Telephone, 1386 Jamaica. Richmond-Richmond Clinic, Bay and Elizabeth Streets, Stapleton. Telephone, 1558 Tompkinsville. SANATORIUM FOR TUBERCULOSIS Otisville, Orange County, N. Y. (via Erie Railroad from Jersey City). Telephone, 13 Otisville. TUBERCULOSIS HOSPITAL ADMISSION BUREAU Maintained by the Department of Health, the Department of Public Charities, and Bellevue and Allied Hospitals, 426 First Avenue. Telephone, 8667 Madison Square. Hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. M. B. BROWN PRINTING & BINDING co. 49 TO 57 PARK PLACE, NEW YORK i 522--13 (B) 2000 All communications relating to the publications of the Department of Health should be addressed to the Commissioner of Health, 149 Centre Street, New York Entered as second class matter May 7, 1913, at the post office at New York, N. Y., NEW SERIES. VOL. II. AUGUST 30, 1913. No. 35 DISTRIBUTION OF ANTITOXIN FREE OF CHARGE IN MANHATTAN. It is the firm conviction and belief of the Department of Health that, if every case of diphtheria in New York City received five thousand units of antitoxin on the first day of the disease, the number of deaths from this cause-now entirely toc high-would be markedly diminished. To further this end the Department of Health of The City of New York announces that, beginning September 1, 1913, it will, whenever necessary, between the hours of 9 a. m. and 2 p. m., deliver promptly, free of charge, to any address in Manhattan, antitoxin for the treatment of diphtheria, provided that: 1. Request be made to the Department of Health at 149 Centre st., telephone number 6280 Franklin. 2. The person receiving the antitoxin, sign a receipt therefor, containing a statement that the patient (or legal guardian) is unable to pay for the same. The above offer is for a limited period only. If physicians avail themselves of it in sufficient numbers, the procedure will be extended to all Boroughs and made permanent. The antitoxin will be furnished in syringe containers, ready for immediate use. The empty or unused syringes will be collected by the Department of Health the following day. ISSUANCE OF SUMMONSES BY INSPECTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT. Until recently summonses for violations of the Sanitary Code have always been served by a police officer attached to the Department of Health. When an Inspector detected a violation of the code, either through his own efforts or as the result of a complaint, it was necessary for him to apply to a Magistrate for a summons, presenting at the same time all the papers connected with the case. In order to facilitate the work of the Inspector by saving him one trip to court and allowing him to spend more time in his district, it was decided, following a recent amendment of the Greater New York Charter, to alter this mode of procedure and to permit the Inspector to serve a summons immediately without consulting a Magistrate. It had also been found in the past that in a number of cases offenders against the Sanitary Code and health laws disappeared while the Inspector was engaged in obtaining a summons. Furthermore, as already intimated, the Inspector could not obtain a summons from a Magistrate without filing his complaint. Under the new regulations the summons is served immediately and the complaint filled out later. The police are also enabled to spend more time in their districts. In fact, the new method promises to be remarkably beneficial, especially in the outlying regions of the City where as much as two hours is often saved by allowing Inspectors to issue summonses directly instead of through the courts. The resolution making this method operative was adopted by the Board of Health of the Department of Health at a meeting held August 26, 1913. The summons books are prepared by the Board of City Magistrates in each division of the City and are attested in the name of the Chief City Magistrates. The summons bears the name of the supposed violator and also the name of the Inspector issuing it. When a summons is prepared and served upon the party therein named and charged with the offense, it shall not under any circumstances be withdrawn by the Inspector and must be made returnable within twenty-four hours when practicable and under no circumstances later than forty-eight hours after its issuance. Summonses will only be issued in connection with the prosecution of cases arising under the Sanitary Code and health laws. An Inspector will not issue a summons for violation of any ordinance or law with the enforcement of which this department is not charged. Summonses will be made returnable in the district in which the offense is committed, and the Inspector must appear in court at the time and place mentioned. These regulations do not apply to summonses against corporations which in all instances will, as formerly, be issued by a Magistrate. THE COMING MEETING OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSO CIATION. The annual meeting of the American Public Health Association always affords a great deal of interesting material for public health officials. The meeting this year, the forty-third since the organization of the Association, will be held at Colorado Springs from September 9 to 14. The Department of Health of The City of New York will, as usual, be well represented. In a symposium on the control and improvement of food supplies, "The Functions of Municipal Authorities" is discussed by Ernst J. Lederle, Commissioner of Health. In a symposium on the venereal problem, "The Relation of the Health Authorities to Venereal Disease," is presented by Dr. Charles F. Bolduan, Assistant to the General Medical Officer. Dr. Bolduan has also a paper dealing with "Hospital Morbidity Statistics, Their Value and Method of Collection." In the section on vital statistics, Dr. William H. Guilfoy, Registrar, presents the report of the Committee on Resolutions, of which he is chairman. Other papers announced for the meeting deal with problems connected with the milk supply, with bacteriological problems concerning drinking water, and with the purification of waters for swimming pools. There will also be discussions concerning various methods of sewage disposal, papers on typhoid fever and other infectious diseases, papers on infant and child hygiene and papers dealing with the sociological aspects of public health work. REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE SALE OF DIPPED MILK AND CREAM. At a meeting of the Board of Health of the Department of Health, held July 30, 1913, the following rules and regulations for the sale of dipped milk and cream in stores in The City of New York were adopted, to take effect on and after August 26, 1913: 1. Milk or cream shall not be stored, handled or sold in any stable, or in any room used for cooking or domestic purposes, or in any room which communicates directly with any such stable or room, or in any room in which there is a water closet apartment or with which a water closet apartment communicates, unless such apartment be enclosed by a vestibule, and both apartment and vestibule be properly ventilated to the external air. 2. The term "domestic purposes" shall be held to apply to rooms used for sleeping purposes or for cooking purposes other than the preparation of the midday meal. 3. Milk or cream shall not be handled or sold in any room which is unduly crowded. 4. Milk or cream shall not be dipped from cans stored in a room in which butter or cheese is manufactured. 5. Milk or cream may be stored in a cooling or refrigerating room, or ice chest, the construction of which has been approved by the department. 6. No milk or cream shall be dipped from cans stored in a milk booth. 7. Milk shall be kept at a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit or below at all times. Equipment. 1. Rooms in which milk or cream is handled or sold shall be well lighted. 2. The floors, walls and ceilings shall be smooth, and must be kept clean and sanitary. 3. All windows and doors shall be properly screened. 4. An adequate supply of hot water shall be provided for the washing of utensils. 5. A sufficient number of properly constructed ice tubs, or other adequate refrigerating facilities, for cans of milk or cream shall be provided. 6. All utensils used for dipped milk or cream shall be of the seamless sanitary type, heavily tinned. Methods. 1. No milk or cream shall be dipped from cans stored in any room in which rubbish or dirty material is allowed to accumulate, or in which there are offensive odors. 2. All cans or other receptacles used for milk or cream shall be cleaned thoroughly upon emptying. 3. The cans from which milk or cream is dipped shall be packed in ice, and shall be kept covered at all times, except when the milk or cream is being actually dipped therefrom. 4. After each day's use all utensils shall be thoroughly cleaned with hot water and soda, and then with boiling water. 5. All utensils used for dipped milk or cream shall be kept clean. 6. The ice tubs in which milk or cream is stored shall be painted inside and outside, and shall be kept clean at all times. 7. A separate dipper shall be provided for each can from which the supply is being served, and such dipper shall remain in the can between dippings until all the milk in the can has been disposed of. 8. All goods sold in milk stores must be either in unbroken packages, or must be so placed, protected and handled that no dust or odors therefrom can injuriously affect the milk. 9. Dry sweeping and dusting in rooms in which milk or cream is dispensed is prohibited. 10. The tags on cans of milk or cream must be kept on file in the store for at least two months for inspection by the Department of Health. 11. The attendants shall wear clean, washable outer clothing. 12. Only such persons shall be employed as are free from infectious diseases which may be transmitted in the handling of milk. DEATH RATE FOR THE WEEK ENDING AUGUST 30, 1913. There were 1,274 deaths and a rate of 12.37 per 1,000 of the population reported during the past week as against 1,317 deaths and a rate of 13.28 in the corresponding week of 1912. Measles, diphtheria and croup, whooping-cough showed considerably increased mortality. The number of deaths reported from typhoid fever was 7 as against 19 in the corresponding week of last year; throughout the entire year so far the mor tality from typhoid fever has been lower than at any other corresponding period in the history of the department. Diarrhoeal diseases among children under five years of age showed a decreased mortality of 25 deaths, notwithstanding the increase in population. Organic heart diseases, pulmonary tuberculosis, Bright's disease and nephritis and the pneumonias showed a slightly decreased mortality, if the increase in population be considered. There were 46 fewer deaths of children under one year of age; between one and five years of age there was an increase of 16 deaths; between five and sixty-five a decrease of 30 deaths, and at ages over sixty-five years an increase of 3 deaths. The death rate for the first thirty-five weeks of 1913 was 14.39 per 1.000 of the population, as against 14.62 in the corresponding period of 1912, a decrease of 23 of a point. |