Politico article published leading up to President Obama’s 2009 joint session speech:
https://www.politico.com/story/2009/09/obama-to-address-congress-on-reform-026700
Nathan traveled to Albany to present his opposition to the Brush Bill on February 15, 1898. "The principal provisions of the bill to which exception is taken are those depriving the board of the services of the President of the Board of Police Commissioners, prohibiting the production of vaccine virus, diphtheria antitoxin, and other antitoxins, and the work in the prevention of infectious diseases, and excluding from the list of "infectious, contagious, and pestilential diseases" a number of diseases which now are classed by the Health Department or by the Health Departments of other cities as dangerous to the public health."
]]>In 1897, Nathan Straus (1848-1931) became the President and Commissioner of the New York City Board of Health for a two year term. Nathan took his responsibilities seriously. One of his first duties as President of the Health Board was to announce that hotels and bath houses would be required to provide bathers with life lines. The board also contemplated appointing a life savings corps of officers in uniforms. On February 2, 1898 The Times reported, "The Woman's Health Protective Association is still interested in the subject of expectoration tracts, and Nathan Straus, President of the Health Board, is to co-operate with the society in the war it is to wage this winter against the great New York expectorator."
Nathan traveled to Albany to present his opposition to the Brush Bill on February 15, 1898. "The principal provisions of the bill to which exception is taken are those depriving the board of the services of the President of the Board of Police Commissioners, prohibiting the production of vaccine virus, diphtheria antitoxin, and other antitoxins, and the work in the prevention of infectious diseases, and excluding from the list of "infectious, contagious, and pestilential diseases" a number of diseases which now are classed by the Health Department or by the Health Departments of other cities as dangerous to the public health."
Links:
“Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 1 (New York: February 1998); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr298.pdf
“Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 2 (New York: August 1998); pp. 4-7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr898.pdf
“Nathan Straus Pasteurized Milk Laboratory” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2002); pp. 4-9.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr202.pdf
“Nathan Straus, Public Servant” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2003); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr203.pdf
“The Nathan Straus Soup Kitchens in Palestine” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 16 No. 1 (New York: August 2014); pp. 1-5.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/nwslttr814.pdf
Nathan Straus (1848-1931) became interested in milk pasteurization for several reasons. Two of Nathan and Lina Straus' six children, Sara and Roland, died in early childhood. Although the family could avail themselves of the best and most modern medical treatment of the day, there was nothing that could be done to save either child. The Strauses owned farm animals, including cows from which the family's milk was obtained. When a seemingly healthy animal died suddenly, Nathan wondered if the germs that caused the animal's death could be transferred to her milk. This led to his conviction that pasteurization was essential.
Nathan's first pasteurized milk depot opened at the foot of the East Third Street Pier on June 1, 1893. It was a small building containing a refrigeration unit, storage rooms, a pasteurization laboratory and salesrooms. The goal was to distribute low cost, high quality pasteurized milk to the city's poor. Milk was sold in bottles, by the glass and in cans. Modified formulas were also sold for babies. These formulas were devised by Nathan's medical advisors and often contained barley water, milk sugar, white sugar, lime water and salt. Modified milk was sold in deposit bottles provided with a nipple, both being sterilized in the pasteurizing laboratory. Ice was also supplied so that people keep the milk from spoiling once it was brought home. The milk bottles had rounded bottoms so that no uncorked bottle could be left standing, thereby becoming contaminated by unsanitary conditions in the homes. Lectures were provided in the many languages of the city's residents to educate them about the benefits of pasteurized milk. Nathan had coupons printed so that doctors could "prescribe" the milk which would then be given at no cost.
The program was an immediate success among the city's poor. Nathan set up his laboratories and milk depots as a demonstration model to prove to governmental officials and the medical establishment that the large scale distribution of pasteurized milk would make a difference in public health. He wrote, "The tragedy of needless infant slaughter, desolating so many homes and wringing the hearts, lies like a dark shadow on our boasted civilization. It is nothing more or less than permitted murder, for which the responsibility must lie at the door of the agencies of government that fail to recognize its existence and demand its prevention."
]]>After the Civil War, there was some recognition that the quality of the milk sold to the city's poor was substandard. Small, but unsuccessful, efforts were made to improve sanitary conditions. Milk continued to be an agent that carried diphtheria, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, tuberculosis and the "summer complaint," diarrhea. Thousands of children died each year, especially during the summer months, as a result of drinking unsterilized milk.
Nathan Straus (1848-1931) became interested in milk pasteurization for several reasons. Two of Nathan and Lina Straus' six children, Sara and Roland, died in early childhood. Although the family could avail themselves of the best and most modern medical treatment of the day, there was nothing that could be done to save either child. The Strauses owned farm animals, including cows from which the family's milk was obtained. When a seemingly healthy animal died suddenly, Nathan wondered if the germs that caused the animal's death could be transferred to her milk. This led to his conviction that pasteurization was essential.
Nathan's first pasteurized milk depot opened at the foot of the East Third Street Pier on June 1, 1893. It was a small building containing a refrigeration unit, storage rooms, a pasteurization laboratory and salesrooms. The goal was to distribute low cost, high quality pasteurized milk to the city's poor. Milk was sold in bottles, by the glass and in cans. Modified formulas were also sold for babies. These formulas were devised by Nathan's medical advisors and often contained barley water, milk sugar, white sugar, lime water and salt. Modified milk was sold in deposit bottles provided with a nipple, both being sterilized in the pasteurizing laboratory. Ice was also supplied so that people keep the milk from spoiling once it was brought home. The milk bottles had rounded bottoms so that no uncorked bottle could be left standing, thereby becoming contaminated by unsanitary conditions in the homes. Lectures were provided in the many languages of the city's residents to educate them about the benefits of pasteurized milk. Nathan had coupons printed so that doctors could "prescribe" the milk which would then be given at no cost.
The program was an immediate success among the city's poor. Nathan set up his laboratories and milk depots as a demonstration model to prove to governmental officials and the medical establishment that the large scale distribution of pasteurized milk would make a difference in public health. He wrote, "The tragedy of needless infant slaughter, desolating so many homes and wringing the hearts, lies like a dark shadow on our boasted civilization. It is nothing more or less than permitted murder, for which the responsibility must lie at the door of the agencies of government that fail to recognize its existence and demand its prevention."
Links:
“Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 1 (New York: February 1998); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr298.pdf
“Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 2 (New York: August 1998); pp. 4-7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr898.pdf
“Nathan Straus Pasteurized Milk Laboratory” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2002); pp. 4-9.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr202.pdf
“Nathan Straus, Public Servant” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2003); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr203.pdf
“The Nathan Straus Soup Kitchens in Palestine” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 16 No. 1 (New York: August 2014); pp. 1-5.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/nwslttr814.pdfCreating lasting, positive change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world.
Quotation from: Save the ChildrenBorn in 1909, Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) defied social conventions at a young age. She was one of the first women to ever attend medical school, graduating from Columbia University despite the economic struggles of Great Depression. She originally intended to pursue surgery, but women were not allowed to enter the profession at that time. Instead, Apgar turned to anesthesiology, where she helped the practice develop into a specialty. In particular, she researched the effects and usage of anesthesia in childbirth, and became Columbia’s first female full professor.
Her biggest contribution to the world of medicine came with the development of the Apgar score. This system was designed to measure and rate the pulse, breathing rate, reflexes, color, and muscle tone of newborn babies. A critical process of evaluation, it continues to save countless lives today.
When she was 50 years old, Virginia Apgar earned a master’s degree in public health, traveling with the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (March of Dimes) to raise money and awareness.
Not only is she recognized for her medical contributions, but she also played an important role for women wishing to enter the medical field.
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Dr. Virginia Apgar examining an infant with a stethoscope.
Born in 1909, Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) defied social conventions at a young age. She was one of the first women to ever attend medical school, graduating from Columbia University despite the economic struggles of Great Depression. She originally intended to pursue surgery, but women were not allowed to enter the profession at that time. Instead, Apgar turned to anesthesiology, where she helped the practice develop into a specialty. In particular, she researched the effects and usage of anesthesia in childbirth, and became Columbia’s first female full professor.
Her biggest contribution to the world of medicine came with the development of the Apgar score. This system was designed to measure and rate the pulse, breathing rate, reflexes, color, and muscle tone of newborn babies. A critical process of evaluation, it continues to save countless lives today.
When she was 50 years old, Virginia Apgar earned a master’s degree in public health, traveling with the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (March of Dimes) to raise money and awareness.
Not only is she recognized for her medical contributions, but she also played an important role for women wishing to enter the medical field.