Fifteen million men and women who work for a living get free medical examinations, free medical care for injuries and illness incurred in line of employment— all at the expense of their employers. The employers figure it saves them money in the long run. Last week, 1,500 doctors who look after those 15,000,000 met in Chicago for the annual convention of the American Association of Industrial Physicians and Surgeons. They figured that the yearly cost to industry due to illness of workers is $6,000,000,000.*
The welfare of the 2,000,000 women factory workers† held the convention’s interest. Illinois’ Industrial Hygienist Milton Henry Kronenberg reminded his colleagues that women “are less resistant to dust, fumes and gases [than men], more susceptible to poisons, monotony and fatigue. . . . Married women are a particular problem. The stillbirth percentage is greater among factory workers. Infant mortality is higher. Abortions are higher.” His recommendation to prevent all this: pre-employment physical examinations, followed by frequent periodic checkups, prohibiting females in employments involving exposure to lead and benzol; proper seating, with back rests; prohibiting women from working three months prior to and after childbirth; prohibiting night work; clean lunch rooms; quiet rest rooms; an educational program emphasizing female health; adequate nursing and medical care, and short rest periods during the morning and afternoon hours.
Syphilis is another concern of industrial medicine. Caterpillar Tractor Co.’s Harold Albert Vonachen reported that the syphilitics of their Peoria, Ill. plant are kept at work as long as they follow treatment by their family doctors. He discovered that 400 of the 10,000 employes had syphilis. Only two refused treatment. They lost their jobs.
*Occupational diseases account for $2,000,000,000 of this.
†Eleven million U. S. women work for wages.
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