NURSES’ HOME AT KARITANE

Southland Times, Issue 24154, 17 June 1940, Page 7

NURSES’ HOME AT KARITANE

OPENING OF NEW BUILDING PROGRESS OF PLUNKET SOCIETY A handsome new nurse’s home at the Karitane-Hunt Hospital at Waikiwi was officially opened on Saturday in the presence of a good number of members and supporters of the Plunket Society. The new building was inspected by the visitors who expressed their satisfaction that such comfortable quarters had been provided for the nurses.

The home was designed by Mr A. C. Ford and erected by R. Blue and Son. It is a brick building with a central section and two wings extending northwards, being designed to secure the maximum sunlight and to be easy of extension. It provides accommodation for 14 nurses and two sisters. The nurses are provided with single rooms in the wings, each wing including separate bathrooms. A large and comfortably furnished sitting room is provided for the nurses in the centra, block, the room facing north and being fitted with wide fresh-air windows. A similarly well-appointed sitting-room is available for the sisters. Also in the central block are kitchen and ironing rooms. The corridors are heated with hot water radiators. Mrs R. M. Strang, president of the Southland branch of the Plunket Society, was chairman and she was presented by the nurses with a beautiful bouquet as was also Mrs . James Begg, of Dunedin, Dominion president of the society. PROGRESS MAINTAINED “This is an important day in the life of the Karitane movement in Southland,” Mrs Strang said “It marks the progress that has been steadily maintained since the beginning of the work here.” She expressed the appreciation of the society at the interest shown ip the opening ceremony. During 1926 the late Sir William Hunt had made a gift of the h:e property to the Southland branch of the Plunket Society for Karitane work. Since that time considerable alterations and additions to the building had been made because the growing demands for Karitane assistance to mothers and babies had called for increased accommodation. On many occasions the work had been carried on under great difficulty because of the lack of ffie necessary facilities and conveniences.

“I cannot speak too highly of the work of the matron, sisters and nurses, also the house and garden staff,” continued the president. “At this time when many of our young men have gone overseas and others are preparing themselves to proceed overseas, the work of the society assumes an even greater importance and consequently the financial assistance which we are forced to call for requires more than ever ycur sympathetic support. Recently under the Social Security legislation all mothers and babies requiring attention at Karitane Hospital became eligible to receive the benefit free of charge. “Before the Social Security Act became operative we received certain fees from the patients and in addition a grant of £7OO from the Government. Under existing conditions the grant has been cancelled, but the Government pays us 3/- a day for each mother and 6/- a day for each baby. It will be evident to you that these amounts are insufficient to cover our expenses. Therefore, it is necessary for us to have the deficiency made up by voluntary contributions. Our income is derived from the grants made by the department, voluntary contributions and from Karitane trainees’ fees.”

Mrs Strang made a. strong appeal to mothers and others interested to become members of the society. It was the earnest wish of the society to provide services whenever and wherever required to save the lives of babies. She paid tribute to the women who had devoted themselves to the work of the society without any thought of reward. There were in Southland eight subbranches and committees scattered throughout the province and the work of the women carrying on the branches and committees was a very valuable help. COMFORTABLE QUARTERS Sir Robert Anderson said he wished to extend his congratulations to the society on the erection of the new building. For some years the efforts of the society had been directed towards this project. In earlier days it had not been thought necessary to provide comfortable accommodation in hosp.Uls for any persons other than the patients. Fortunately, it was now reabzil that if the best service was to be secured from nurses they must be well and comfortably housed. The next objective of the society would be a new hospital and he hoped eventually to see the present hospital taken down and a new one erected.

The society deserved the widest public support, he said, and he endorsed the request of the president that all interested should become members and subscribe the modest sum of 5/- a year to enable the great work to be extended. It was a matter for regret that Sir William Hunt had not lived to see the home erected. No one had had the work of the society closer to his heart than Sir William. He had done a great deal to further the society and when Sir Truby King and the society had been in difficulties he had come to their assistance and put the organization on a business footing so that its factory for the production of baby foods could show a profit and extend still further the operations of the society. Mr W. A. Ott said the building was a credit to the architect and builder. It was in a beautiful situation . and the nurses should be very happy in it. The trustees of the Invercargill Savings Bank were glad to have had an opportunity of helping the society. The Plunket organization was treating people from all parts of Southland and there was no question of town or country considerations in its work.- Sir Truby King had been imbued with the ideal of treating individuals in infancy to avoid illness in later life. The society was doing great work and deserved the support of all sections of the community. EDUCATION OF MOTHERS The Dominion president congratulated the Southland society on the realization of a dream of long standing. It would be a wonderful inspiration to the nurses to live in such attractive suroundings. The ceremony was being held in sad circumstances and it was necessary that the work of the society should not be relaxed. There was a great deal still to be done for the babies. It was unfortunate that there was still a great deal of ignorance in the community about the welfare of the children. It was essential that the life of every child should be saved because of the great wastage of life overseas. Mothers should be educated to their duties -to their children and the society must be continued in all its different branches of work. It had been said that Germany did not need to waste so many lives in defeat-

ing the British Empire because the falling birth-rate would have done it in a few years. It was essential that everything should be done to increase the birth-rate and maintain the population. The society’s appeal for support deserved the widest response. The new building was the realization of the aims of the society for a number of years, said Dr A. F. Ritchie Crawford. The society still had problems in financing its operations because contributions from the Social Security Fund were not sufficient to conduct the hospital. All hospitals were finding that the contributions were insufficient and the need for accommodation was growing rapidly. He felt certain that additions to the hospital itself would soon be necessary to provide accommodation for the mothers and babies. The activities of the society were a fitting memorial to Sir Truby King and would continue as long as New Zealand existed. The architect of the building (Mr A. C. Ford) then made presentations to the president and Mrs Begg as mementoes of the occasion.