The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

January, 1955The Health Bulletinsuch an excellent Executive Committee.Its members have worked diligently inyour behalf and have made it a realpleasure for me to serve as your president.Our secretary has done an outstandingjob and we now have 1157paid members. This is the largest paidmembership we have ever had.Moreover, we have become a more effectiveAssociation because we haveunited in a common cause—cuts in Federalfunds have made it necessary forpublic health workers to join forces.There are other factors, which, if moregenerally understood, would increaseour membership and make us a morepotent force as public health continuesto speak. Many of our members are notfamiliar with the history of our Associationand have little knowledge as toits purpose. For this reason, I wouldlike to give you a brief resume of ourconstitution. In the preamble it states,"In order to carry forward and enlargethe services of the North CarolinaHealth Officers' Association organizedJune 20, 1911 and since that time incontinuous active operation protectingand promoting public health, providingfor scientific advancement of members,and extending and developing the publichealth movement, there is herebyformed this Association of PublicHealth Workers." Article I: "This organizationshall be known as the NorthCarolina Public Health Association accordingto the Amendment adoptedApril 24, 1922." Article II: "The purposeof this Association shall be to bringinto one organization the public healthworkers of the State of North Carolina,so that by regular meetings and interchangeof ideas they may secure moreefficient cooperation and uniform enforcementof sanitary laws and regulations,and for the better disseminationof such knowledge as will make moreeffective the opinions of the professionin all scientific, legislative, publichealth, material, and social affairs."My reasons for reviewing the purposeof our organization are: (1) To remindyou that there is more to our organizationthan the annual meeting, whichin reality is a yearly review of the progressof the Association, and to keep itsmembers up-to-date on the latesttrends in public health. (2) To pointout that through a special committeeto study "Merit System Salary Regulation"you have been ably represented.Many of our members would not havereceived salary increases were it not forthe study and effort of this Committee.This Committee, over the years, hashad your interests at heart and hasworked diligently to cooperate with theState Board of Health and the StateMerit System Council in an effort tokeep salary ranges in line with socialand economic changes. (3) Throughyour Legislative Committee, this Associationhas taken a forward step in informingthe people of North Carolinain a positive manner, of the importantpart our Health Department personnelis playing in meeting the health needsof our people.The primary purpose of this addressis a report to you on our EACH ONETEACH ONE movement. I would liketo make it clear—so far as the recordis concerned—that this movement isnot the "brain child" of any particularperson or group. It represents the combinedthinking of many people. It hadits origin at the American PublicHealth Association meeting in NewYork in 1953, when one of the speakersstated that Federal funds to publichealth had been cut over 50 per centwithout a protest. This idea began topenetrate the thinking of various membersand it was discussed in numeroussmall groups. Our North Carolina delegatescontinued to talk about it whenthey returned home. They were concernedover the previous reduction inFederal funds and what it did to ourprogram; more particularly were theyconcerned about the proposed cuts forthe coming fiscal year 1955. We wereinformed that we could anticipate abouta 27 per cent cut. What could be doneto prevent it? We knew that the Stateand Territorial Health Officers Associationwere organized to voice its opposition;but what could we in North Carolinado to help reverse this trend? Ireceived numerous telephone calls and