Legislative Assembly

I would like to make brief reference to a few of our other programs at this time. The Rheumatic Fever Prevention Program had 147 patients last year; twenty- two added during the year. The number of cases in Cancer Control: I find that the number of cases declined slightly, but more patients were treated by radio-therapy and the number of treatments increased very substantially.

In the field of venereal disease I find two cases of syphillis were reported in 1967, but gonorrhea has become popular once again, increasing from 22 cases in 1966 to 38 cases last year. Some lack of reporting is noted and we feel that if all Doctors would promptly report all cases more effective measures might be taken and con- trolled by the department.

In respect to laboratory services, I would also note that there was an in- crease of 22% in the number of units processed by our laboratories last year over the preceding year. Procedures referred from doctors’ office practices increased 47% last year. In trying to cope with this fast load increase with a limited staff we find it necessary to buy a second auto-analyzer. Dr. Jelks is presently on course in respect to this new element of automation in the City of New York.

We do find the need for up-grading additional staff, and hope to take on some graduate science students for post-graduate interning in our laboratories.

In respect to Public Health Nursing, this valuable health service continues to function well in all of it many fields of endeavour. Our most recent effort has been directed to a new program of measles vaccinations. So far 5,300 have been vaccinated with about twenty-five mild reactions reported.

I would now like to refer to the sanitorium complex which presently consists of the Sanitorium, The Special Care Unit, and The Rehabilitation Centre.

The Division of Tuberculosis Control under the capable and devoted leader- ship of Dr. Eric Found, continues towards its goal of wiping out this disease in the Province. A major milestone was reached in 1967, in Centennial Year, when we had no T.B. deaths in this Province. This compares with 70 deaths in 1947 —— twenty years ago. When we consider that some three million people die annually in the world of tuberculosis we must consider ourselves fortunate to live in an area where an active program of Tuberculosis Control has been in effect for a considerable length of time. Active cases in 1962, for example, were 55. The next year they declined to 41; in 1966 they again declined to 34, and in 1967 there were only 19 active cases.

The average hospital stay has also been drastically reduced. In 1965 the aver- age stay was 229 days; in 1966 this was reduced to 112 days, and during the past year it was again reduced to 100.8 days. Presently there are no cases of tuberculosis in the age group under 20 years; the disease appears only at the present time in the older age groups.

The control which has been so effective in recent years will be continued, and I have no doubt that further satisfactory progress will be made towards the elimina- tion of tuberculosis as a public health problem in this Province.

In respect to the Rehabilitation Centre, this centre was operated during the year 1967 as an open hospital with 21 physicians and staff. Its control was placed under the direction of Dr. Eric Found towards the end of 1967. Dr. Found now has charge of the whole Sanitorium Complex, and this, I believe, will make for better administration, and I look forward to staff integration and other features where these three units can operate smoothly as one.

The Orthopedic Ward, formerly directed by Dr. Gencheff, is now in charge of two orthopedic specialists from Halifax. Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Tony Trias. Additional clinics by out-of—province physicians are held by Dr. James Ross of Halifax, for cleft lip and cleft palate; Dr. Gillespie from the Children’s Hospital, Halifax, cystic fibrosis. Special interest was developed in this serious malady last summer when mass screening took place in this Province, commonly called the “sweat-test”. I understand that only one additional case was found during this testing period. How- ever, special and urgent requests from the parents of children suffering from cystic

——130—