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

March, 1955 The Health Bulletin 9velop into classroom problems, andthen secure adequate examinations,physical and mental, to determine thecause so we can take steps to correctthem through family and/or communitycooperation?Efficient Management In the Operationof Our Health Facilities. We goabout constantly preaching efficiencyin the operation of restaurants andschools and in the sanitation of homesand their environment, but I ask, inall sincerity, do we practice this in ourhealth centers, auxiliary centers andother places where clinics are conducted?Just because we use an auxiliarycenter a few hours once or twice aweek, that is no reason why the yardshould be knee high in weeds and thesurroundings in general like those of adeserted house. The building and surroundingsshould be neat and clean.There should be a posted schedule ofthe clinics of sufficient size and soplaced that it can readily be read bycitizens passing in their cars. The firstlaw of efficient management is to practicewhat we preach.Efficient Coordination of Activitiesand Resources. In addition to the efficientmanagement of his staff, it is theadministrator's responsibility to coordinateits work with that of all othercommunity agencies concerned withhealth. It istrue that many of the detailsof the cooperation between variousagencies can be carried out by the juniormembers of the health departmentstaff and those of the various agencies;however, the top administrators of allagencies concerned are responsible and,therefore, should initiate the overallcoordination of work by their combinedstaffs.It is true that supplying all thehealth needs of a community is not theexclusive responsibility of the healthdepartment, but is a joint responsibilityof the allied medical, nursing and dentalprofessions, voluntary health agencies,service clubs, official governmentalagencies and the citizens who are consumersof the service. Nevertheless, thehealth department staff must providethe leadership in coordinating all thesecommunity resources to the end thatthe health needs are met. Unless thisis done, then much inefficiency and unnecessaryexpenditure of both publicand private funds will result. It isamazing to see how a community'shealth resources can be brought intoplay and coordinated during an emergencyor local disaster. During suchtime every agency and organizationforgets its vested interests and agencyambitions to pitch in and do a job. Itdoes seem that we should be able todo the same on a long-range basis soas to guard and improve the healthof the people and be better preparedfor emergencies and disasters.One of the greatest helps in the coordinationof the community agenciesis for the individual members of thehealth department to really becomecitizens of the community in whichthey live and/or work. This should bedone in the capacity of lay citizens butby using the knowledge which theyhave as health workers to enable themto become leaders in all communityactivities pertaining to health. For thisreason, it is my belief that health departmentpersonnel should be assignedon a geographical basis and that theseassignments be permanent or, at least,that personnel not be rotated so frequentlythat they never get to learn theneeds of their assigned area or knowthe people intimately enough to counseland work with them as group orcommunity leaders.In conclusion, if we are to be efficientin public health practice, each of usmust believe in it, be loyal to it, studyit, work at it and actually live it.