The Christmas Seal Campaign was
started in Ohio County in 1925. Part of the money was sent to the state to fund state
activities against the spread of tuberculosis. During this time there was a high mortality
rate among those suffering from the disease and many who recovered were never able to work
again.
The Point View sanitarium was
operated until the late 1920's and was closed due to constant engineering difficulties,
and the inaccessibility of the site. The 1928 "Christmas Seal" money was used to
help the county commission open a 14 bed, fully equipped sanitarium on the Ohio County
farm which was located on Battle Run. This original Battle Run site was operated until
1934, when need for a larger facility and the means to obtain one became available. At
this time the building which housed the sanitarium was turned over to the Fresh
Air Farm, to be used as a summer camp for poor children and for the children of
those suffering with tuberculosis.
The League funded the Fresh Air Farm
until 1934 when it was turned over to the Kiwanis Club of Wheeling, and
was operated under the name of Fresh Air Farm Inc.
Financial support continued for many years by purchasing such items as a stove and
refrigerator, milk and funds to cover the cost of maintaining the children of tuberculosis
patients for the season.
In September of 1936, a 40-bed
sanatorium was opened on the county farm location. The cost of the institution was
$188,000. It was financed in part by the Anti-Tuberculosis League, Federal WPA and funds
provided by the county. In October of 1942, a fund was started by Mrs. J. D.
Merriman in memory of her husband to build a Nurses' Residence at the Roneys
Point Sanitarium. The league added $3,010.00 to the project in February 1943, but
the project was abandoned in November 1943 due to insufficient funds.
From September 1944 to June 1945 the
League supplemented the salaries of
persons working at the sanitarium. The supplement was 10 percent of their monthly
salaries. If the League had not done this the sanitarium would have closed, as the county
did not have the money to give pay raises. The league also subsidized the cost of patients
staying at the sanitarium until 1948.Over the years the League bought and maintained
equipment and provided supplies for the sanitarium. Clothing for the patients was provided
and milk was purchased to be delivered to the homes of persons suffering from tuberculosis
to help prevent their children from contracting the disease.
| Around the world, scientists
had been searching for a cure for tuberculosis. Success came in 1943, when Dr.
Selman A. Waksman identified actinomycin. This however proved to be toxic to
humans, but did help in identifying streptomyces griuseus, from which was made. On
November 20, 1944, the antibiotic was administered for the first time to a critically ill
tuberculosis patient. The effect was almost immediately impressive. His advanced disease
was visibly arrested, the bacteria disappeared from his sputum, and he made a rapid
recovery. |
In 1949, x-ray
equipment was purchased and a clinic for providing free x-rays f or screening purposes was opened. Two
local doctors, Dr. Robert M. Sonneborn and Dr. William J. Steger agreed
to serve as medical advisors and read x-rays. The League provided free x-rays for food
handlers, who were required to have them, and for patients discharged from the sanitarium.
These patients required follow-up care for a long period of time; thus they became a part
of the x-ray program. The Tuberculosis League of Ohio County worked closely with the
City/County Health Department to assure high quality of care for the persons discharged
from the sanitarium and their families.
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