Document YG7Orb8yLkznjpVe0Ka8vJ4NE

I only In the injury and our treatment of it, we also want to know ' it happened and why it happened. Pertinent information we pass on the safety director or foreman for further investigation. We chat h the employee about his wife or new baby or his last fishing trip, are not [just robots sticking on a bandaid here or there. Ve are 'k. !ses Interested in the general welfare of the people with whom ve When physical examinations on employees were first started ire were many who refused to be examined. They were sure we were it looking for an exouse to fire them. There are not many today who hue. Huoh of the credit for the change in attitude belongs to the ses and [their patient persuasiveness. For instance, in on of our ints, there was considerable opposition to our physical examination l x-ray programs from the union as well as Individuals. Through the euasive efforts of the nurse and with the ataunoh support of .the plant ierintendent, 60# of the employees consented to x-rays when the bos *ived. We were pleasantly surprised. The nurse told me one day that ; supposed she would never get them all no matter how long she or they ked for us yet each year she tries again and eaoh year she gets & few e' to have. i&ysloU. and/or x-raya. Our physical examination program does not end when the exsmina<n ie completed, in many instances, it has just started. Now we go work persuading the employee to have defects oorreoted, helping him ?ange for!such corrections, encouraging him to reduoe weight or keep blood pressure dor or take oars of that heart. I could oite innumbis instances where our nurses have dons outstanding jobs in followwork on defeota but I just would not know where to stop. We have built a sound struoture around our home visting program, n It would be muoh easier just to make a visit to an enployee who ia : work, adk him why he is off and report book to hia foreman, But that too muoh [like police work and it is not the reason'for our home visits, are interested in why he is off, of oourse, hut we are more interested seeing ill there is anything wa oan do to help him ao that be oan get k to work. Again, when our home visiting program was first Btortsd it was wed with [suspicion by the employees, life were aooused of spying for 'coupany,! Bow the more common rs&otion is, "Why didn't you visit ms a I was siek last week?" All nurses do sot have the ability or training to build such rogrsm as] ours. We pick our nurses .aa oarefully as we oan according their ability and personality. Unfortunately, we have made errors in gemant which caused weak Bpots in our struoture. But, fortunately, have been]able to correct eouh errors and rebuild with even greater -ength. Sometimes it has been a matter of explaining to plant manment what| the Medioal Department ia trying to do. Sometimes it has n a matter of educating the nurse in Brake Shoe polioy, Oui* plants are widely aoattered thus making in-plant training tu&lly impossible. We needed eome method besides bulletins to keep in touch ijrith and to help us educate our nurses in our way of think. Shortly after my appointment ae superintendent of nurses in 1949, 6 SPNY 000136 .