DR. HELEN DEEM’S WORK.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 18, 17 December 1938, Page 12

DR. HELEN DEEM’S WORK.

DRIED MILK EXPERIMENTS,

Interesting experiments designed to ’improve the health of children have been carried out by Dr. Helen Deem, school medical officer, during the two rears she has been stationed in the Waikato, savs a Hamilton correspondent. Dr. Deem will leave Hamilton in March to become medical adviser to the Dominion council of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Healtli of Women and Children. Working among the Maori schqol children in the Taupo-Tokaanu district, where fresh milk is not readily available. Dr. Deem supplied the children with dried milk, to which she added vitamins. She recorded the effect of the diet, not only on their general health, but also on their teeth and gums. The improvement noted convinced her that the experiment was well worth while. Dr. Deem also taught the school children and interested their parents in physical exercises. She is a strong advocate of the Margaret Morris system, and loses no opportunity of imparting her knowledge of it to others. Another activity in which she took an interest was the children’s summer camps. Often in the past there was an absence of expert knowledge shown in the selection of children, who were to go into camp. Dr. Deem put the patient on a systematic footing and carefully selected those children calculated to receive the most physical benefit from a holiday period near the sea. She followed up her work by entering camp, teaching the children physical drill and supervising their diet. She took their weights before and after entering camp and noted the progress they liad made. In addition. Dr. Deem took a keen interest in the Maori babies of. the Taupo-Tokaanu district and showed their mothers how to feed them properly. She received the cordial cooperation of the Maori women, and had the satisfaction of seeing the children thrive while fed in accordance with their instructions. During her work as school medical officer, Dr. Deem was responsible from immunising 7000 children from diphtheria infection.