Annual report of the Department of Public Health, Province of Alberta.

  • Alberta. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1943]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Department of Public Health, Province of Alberta. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/336 (page 19)
    the total attendance was 15,610. Fourteen of these lectures were given to members of the Armed Forces, in connection with the venereal disease control programme. Health educational service is also carried on by the other Divisions of the Department, and occupies an important place in the activities of these Divisions. There is a great need for exten¬ sion of our health educational work, which is of fundamental importance, and we plan on increasing this service in the near future. In co-operation with the Federal Division of Nutritional Ser¬ vices, the Department assisted in promoting educational work in nutrition. In co-operation with the Alberta Council on Nutrition, an itinerary was planned for Miss Frances I. McKay, who visited the Province in March. During this itinerary Miss McKay addressed meetings in eight centres, and in a number of these, local nutrition committees were established. Mrs. Vera MacDonald, Supervisor of Women’s Work in the Extension Branch of the Provincial Department of Agriculture, gave splen¬ did co-operation in visiting places on Miss McKay’s itinerary in advance, with a view to arousing interest of local groups in nutrition. One of the outstanding activities, in connection with nutri¬ tion, was the Nutrition Camp which was organized and conducted by the Lamont Health Unit at Elk Island Park. This Camp con¬ tinued for a period of six weeks,with Dr. H. Siemens,Medical Offi¬ cer of the Lamont Health Unit, in charge. The staff consisted of three Public Health Nurses, a Nutritionist, a Physical Director and two cooks. The co-operation of the Department of Educa¬ tion in making the services of a Physical Director available, and the co-operation of the Department of Agriculture in making the services of a Nutritionist available, went a long way to ensure the success of the Camp, and is greatly appreciated. Thirty boys, ranging in age from 10 to 13 (some twenty from the Lamont Health Unit and ten from the other Health Units in the Province), who were much below weight and definitely under-nourished, were given the opportunity of attending the Nutrition Camp. The purpose of this demonstration was not to show how much this group of boys might gain in weight in a specified time, but rather to educate the parents in regard to the diet which should be provided for their children. Parents were invited to visit the Camp, and arrangements were made for lectures and demon¬ strations by the staff of the Camp on the occasions of these visits. Each child was given a complete physical examination prior to admission to the Camp, and, wherever defects were found requiring attention, the necessary treatment was provided through the kind co-operation of the Lamont Clinic. Where dental defects were found, dental treatment was provided by Dr. Yoneyama, the dentist on the staff of the Lamont Health Unit. Through the co-operation of Mr. Dan Campbell, of the Pub¬ licity Department, a film was made showing the various activities of the Camp. Two copies of this film have been made, one for