Chest Diseases in Nursing Homes

Autor: Otto L. Bettag, Glen Ellyn, S.A. Leader
Rok vydání: 1965
Předmět:
Zdroj: Diseases of the Chest. 47:599-607
ISSN: 0096-0217
DOI: 10.1378/chest.47.6.599
Popis: SUMMARY The search for chest diseases, especially tuberculosis, in general and mental hospitals and penal institutions, has been accepted and productive. Nursing and convalescent homes and related facilities have been an interesting but somewhat forgotten facet of the total health treatment program. There are more than 23,000 such facilities in the United States with more than 600,000 beds. In 1962, nursing home construction approached 800 million dollars. With the number of beds increasing at the rate of 24,0 annually this is one of the fastest growing medical and economic problems. Only recently the health standards for these homes attracted indicated attention. The state of Illinois revised minimum standards and regulations for nursing homes which became effective February 1, 1962, and require that every patient have a physical examination prior to or within 72 hours after admission. The physical examination shall include a statement dated and signed by the physician that the patient is free from communicable diseases, including tuberculosis. Physical examinations also shall be given all patients at least annually. Most nursing homes are too small to maintain x-ray departments. There also is reluctance on the part of the homes' owners to absorb the cost of x-raying or to pass it on to the resident patients. DuPage county is one of 102 counties in Illinois, located on the outskirts of Chicago. It is the state's most rapidly growing county, with a population of approximately one- third million. The DuPage County Tuberculosis Sanatorium Board initiated in August 1962 a chest x-ray screening program for all residents of nursing and convalescent homes of the county. The data compiled from approximately 1000 resident patients show the importance of continuous studies and detecting unknown tuberculosis, pneumonia, malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, et cetera. It also points up the difficulties encountered in using roentgenographic equipment and the need for development of better diagnostic, more economical and lighter equipment by the x-ray industry. The study emphasizes the need for a standard for detection of tuberculosis—one that is practical from the nursing home's point of view and, at the same time, reliable as a screening device.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: