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National Defense and Security, the Pharmacist's Place in the Nation's Plans
* NATIONAL * DEFENSE * * ******
AND
SECURITY
"Because of developments in this air-atomic age the United States can no longer be free from the danger of a sudden devastating attack against the homeland. . . .. Every person and every community has a part to play in the civil defense program." - Uniled Slales Civil Defense
EDUCATION'S LONG-RANGE PLANS America's leading educators met in Washington October 6- 7 at a conference called by the American Council on Education to discuss long-range plans for higher education in the world's present crisis. The AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION was represented by Dr. Robert P. Fischelis, Secretary of the ASSOCIATION. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy was represented by Dr. Noel E. Foss, Dean, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, and by its President Dr. Hugo H. Schaefer, Dean, Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, Long Island University. In a series of resolutions, the conferees placed their colleges and universities, and their administrative organizations squarely behind the government in the present emergency. In addition to this, the resolutions held that the power of this nation lies in well-educated and trained men. Any longrange planning, the delegates asserted, should take into consideration the necessity for each individual to get the training and education that" will enable him to make his maximum contribution. A report on "Manpower Utilization adopted by the conference stated that it was in the national interest that students continue to attend colleges and universities. Because the number of students called by Selective Service is, at the present, comparatively small in number, the problem of student deferment is, for the moment, a minor one. However, the delegates asserted that they wanted to take an active role in determining policies and in participating with government agenH
cies. For this reason, they met while the problems of Selective Service were still minor ones. Dr. George F. Zook, president of the American Council of Education, in a speech entitled "The , Challenge of the Future to Higher Education," emphasized the need to meet the future realistically. "We must discard every doctrine of isolation and insularity and take a world point of view," he said. "We must ask ourselves what part we respectively can and should play in the new world drama. I t means sharing our young men and women in their most formative years with the armed forces in some cooperative and, I trust, thoroughly sympathetic manner. It means that we should continue to supply the wants of industry and government with trained men and women, but at the same time retaining enough of them to do our job effectively. It means opening up the research facilities of our universities still further to industry, agriculture, and the armed services." To best serve the nation, the educators agreed, a program must be developed that would select which part of the student body should be deferred from immediate military service. Many of the delegates were in agree~ent that the question of deferment should be tied ·in with the present and potential ability of the students. They also pointed out that there was an obligation on the part of deferred students to serve in the armed forces or in other work of national importance, once their education has been completed. Page 671
.J OURN AL OF TIlE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
CIVIL DEFENSE Survival Under Atomic Atlack, the first of a series of civil defense booklets for the general public, was released by the National Security Resources Board on October 29 . . The booklet neither minimizes nor exaggerates the effects of an atomic explosion. It is a handbook, a practical guide to survival, designed to replace by prudence and know-how the panic that might accompany an atomic attack. In line with the agency's wish to place the booklet in every home in the nation, the AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION has mailed copies of the booklet to all state association secretaries. While the above booklet is written for the individual, another publication, United Stales Civil Defense, issued by the N. S. R. B. last September, suggests a pattern for protecting the community as a whole. The re-
port is a plan for organizing civil defense throughout the country. I t outlines the organization and techniques on which state and local communities can base their plans to meet their particular defense needs. Copies of this publication were also distributed by the ASSOCIATION to all state association secretaries. As soon as it is available from N. S. R. B., an official abstract of the report will be published in THE JOURNAL. In the meanwhile, pharmacists are urged to join other community leaders in planning local civil defense units. I n keeping with the program of close cooperation between American and British civil defense personnel, J. J . Wadsworth, acting director of the N. S. R. B. Civil Defense Office, flew to England in late October to confer on the interchange of training personnel, as well as information regarding shelters, and possible exchange of liaison personnel.
MOBILIZATION OF SCIENTISTS In accordance with the specifications of Public Law 779, the registration of doctors, dentists, and veterinarians got under way on October 16. Although pharmacists are included in the general provisions of the law, they were not included in this order. Pharmacists may have to register later, but for the time being, the pressing need for doctors, dentists, and veterinarians makes it urgent that only they be recruited immediately. Scientists will figure again in a report, soon to be released to the National Security Resources Board, concerning the deferment of college students, scientists, technicians, and engineers. Representatives of the National Research Council, the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and the Engineers Joint Council are preparing to recommend to the . S. R. B. that a body of experts be set up to determine a separate deferment policy for scientific man-
power. At present the Selective Service local boards handle all deferments. According to information now available, the new plans would require scientists and technicians to register and to list their skills with the proposed organization. In turn, the new organization would send them to the armed forces, to industry, or to laboratories. The societies feel that this kind of mobilization would channel men to places where they would do the defense effort the most good. One of the problems that still has to be ironed out is that of determining the scope of such a program. Should all scientists down to the level of Bachelors of Science be i ncluded~ Should all scientists, regardless of age or draft status, be included~ In view of these qu"estions, it is quite understandable that scientists all over the country are eagerly awaiting this report.
OTHER INFORMATION OF INTEREST Enlisted Reservists Recall On October 28 the Army announced that, except for a limited number of Medical and Counter-Intelligence Corps Specialists, no further involuntary recalls would be made of Enlisted Reserve Corps personnel. This does not apply to Reserve · officers. All Page 672
orders issued as late as October 28, however must be complied with. The Army further stated that 1800 Enlisted Medical Reservists will be called up to staff various hospitals. This is a reduction of 1600 in the figure previously issued by the Army.
PRACTICAL PHARMACY EDITION Occupational Deferments "For your own benefit, as well as for the welfare of the nation, do not ask occupational deferment for men under 26, except in the most extreme cases," advised Colonel Daniel O. Omer, General Counsel of the Selective Service System, at the October conference of the American Management Association, Inc. For the foreseeable future, he added, management can plan to keep men from 26 to 35, but should develop plans for their release in case of an emergency. As for men above 35, management can plan to keep then1 on indefinitely, Col. Orner stated. Blood Program Expansion The blood program is leading the way in local civil defense planning. The American Red Cross now has 35 regional blood centers and is in th e process of adding seven more to its network. To aid in defense preparedness other centers are being established in metrop01itan areas by private blood banks, and medical and hospital authorities. A new bloodmobile laboratory, capable of fractionating blood into its life-giving components on the spot and within two hours after withdrawal, was demonstrated in Schenectady, N. Y., at the October meeting
of the National Academy of Sciences. Developed by Dr. Edwin J. Cohn and his associates at Harvard, the laboratory was described as "a major development in the effort to decentralize the handling and processing of blood and blood derivatives needed for public health and security." Blood Substitutes Nothing has yet been discovered that can totally substitute for blood; but, new discoveries being made promise to alleviate the desperate need for blood in emergencies. An article on this page of THE JOURNAL explains a recent recommendation that the drinking of large quantities of salt solution is effective emergency treatment in lessening shock and saving lives until patients can be taken to areas where they can receive blood. New developments in the use of three chemicals- d8xtran, periston, and a solution of gelatin- as substitutes for blood plasma, have been reported by Dr. John S. Lundy of the Mayo Clinic. Dextran, a by-product of sugar and a Swedish-developed chemical, has been given to 1500 patients for fall in blood pressure while under anesthetic. In five or six cases it was considered of lifesaving importance, relieving patients who had not benefited from blood transfusions.
SALT SOLUTION EMERGENCY SHOCK TREATMENT A group of leading American surgeons has advised the Public Health Service that, in a vast majority of case~, salt water taken by mouth is as effective as blood plasma in the emergency treatment of shock from serious burns and other injuries. Tn general terms, the treatment calls for approximately one level teaspoonful of table salt and onehalf teaspoonful of baking soda for each quart of water. A number of quarts are required each day. --rhe only limitations on the amount consumed is the ability of the patient to consume the saline solution. Since great thirst accompanies serious burn inj ury it has been found that patients will voluntarily COIlsume a sufficient amount of the solution, which is quite palatable. No other drinking fluid is permitted in th~ first few days following injury. Jn releasing the recommendation, Surgeon General Leonard A. Scheele said: "The findings are of particular importance in a period of war emergency, since it is estimated that in the event of atomic bombing about 60% of the surviving bombed population might suffer from burns. This figure, moreover, does not account for injuries other than burns in which shock also might be present. "Salt water offers an easy, practical method for the treatment of shock which follows serious burns
and other injuries. It is particularly important in any period of large-scale disaster. Unless the patient is disoriented, is in acute collapse or is among the very small percentage who become nauseated by drinking large quantities of the salt solution, the sodium chloride formula will be effective when administered by mouth." Dr. Scheele emphasized the fact that treatment by saline sol ution will in no sense decrease the need for whole blood. Rather, he pointed out, sodium chloride would provide an effective immediate form of treatment which could be administered by anyone. "The recommendation of the Surgery Study Section, * while of enormous benefit in the event of large-scale disaster, must not be construed as lessening in any way the importance of blood bank programs," he said. "Whole blood and plasma are still essential. "We believe that the salt water method of treatment should also be included, however, in Red Cross training programs so that the necessary information may be fully available to all first aid personnel, including firemen, policemen, air raid wardens, and housewives."
* Advisary body to the
Not,joDDI Institutes oC Health.
Page 673
AND
SECURITY
"Because of developments in this air-atomic age the United States can no longer be free from the danger of a sudden devastating attack against the homeland. . . .. Every person and every community has a part to play in the civil defense program." - Uniled Slales Civil Defense
EDUCATION'S LONG-RANGE PLANS America's leading educators met in Washington October 6- 7 at a conference called by the American Council on Education to discuss long-range plans for higher education in the world's present crisis. The AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION was represented by Dr. Robert P. Fischelis, Secretary of the ASSOCIATION. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy was represented by Dr. Noel E. Foss, Dean, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, and by its President Dr. Hugo H. Schaefer, Dean, Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, Long Island University. In a series of resolutions, the conferees placed their colleges and universities, and their administrative organizations squarely behind the government in the present emergency. In addition to this, the resolutions held that the power of this nation lies in well-educated and trained men. Any longrange planning, the delegates asserted, should take into consideration the necessity for each individual to get the training and education that" will enable him to make his maximum contribution. A report on "Manpower Utilization adopted by the conference stated that it was in the national interest that students continue to attend colleges and universities. Because the number of students called by Selective Service is, at the present, comparatively small in number, the problem of student deferment is, for the moment, a minor one. However, the delegates asserted that they wanted to take an active role in determining policies and in participating with government agenH
cies. For this reason, they met while the problems of Selective Service were still minor ones. Dr. George F. Zook, president of the American Council of Education, in a speech entitled "The , Challenge of the Future to Higher Education," emphasized the need to meet the future realistically. "We must discard every doctrine of isolation and insularity and take a world point of view," he said. "We must ask ourselves what part we respectively can and should play in the new world drama. I t means sharing our young men and women in their most formative years with the armed forces in some cooperative and, I trust, thoroughly sympathetic manner. It means that we should continue to supply the wants of industry and government with trained men and women, but at the same time retaining enough of them to do our job effectively. It means opening up the research facilities of our universities still further to industry, agriculture, and the armed services." To best serve the nation, the educators agreed, a program must be developed that would select which part of the student body should be deferred from immediate military service. Many of the delegates were in agree~ent that the question of deferment should be tied ·in with the present and potential ability of the students. They also pointed out that there was an obligation on the part of deferred students to serve in the armed forces or in other work of national importance, once their education has been completed. Page 671
.J OURN AL OF TIlE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
CIVIL DEFENSE Survival Under Atomic Atlack, the first of a series of civil defense booklets for the general public, was released by the National Security Resources Board on October 29 . . The booklet neither minimizes nor exaggerates the effects of an atomic explosion. It is a handbook, a practical guide to survival, designed to replace by prudence and know-how the panic that might accompany an atomic attack. In line with the agency's wish to place the booklet in every home in the nation, the AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION has mailed copies of the booklet to all state association secretaries. While the above booklet is written for the individual, another publication, United Stales Civil Defense, issued by the N. S. R. B. last September, suggests a pattern for protecting the community as a whole. The re-
port is a plan for organizing civil defense throughout the country. I t outlines the organization and techniques on which state and local communities can base their plans to meet their particular defense needs. Copies of this publication were also distributed by the ASSOCIATION to all state association secretaries. As soon as it is available from N. S. R. B., an official abstract of the report will be published in THE JOURNAL. In the meanwhile, pharmacists are urged to join other community leaders in planning local civil defense units. I n keeping with the program of close cooperation between American and British civil defense personnel, J. J . Wadsworth, acting director of the N. S. R. B. Civil Defense Office, flew to England in late October to confer on the interchange of training personnel, as well as information regarding shelters, and possible exchange of liaison personnel.
MOBILIZATION OF SCIENTISTS In accordance with the specifications of Public Law 779, the registration of doctors, dentists, and veterinarians got under way on October 16. Although pharmacists are included in the general provisions of the law, they were not included in this order. Pharmacists may have to register later, but for the time being, the pressing need for doctors, dentists, and veterinarians makes it urgent that only they be recruited immediately. Scientists will figure again in a report, soon to be released to the National Security Resources Board, concerning the deferment of college students, scientists, technicians, and engineers. Representatives of the National Research Council, the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and the Engineers Joint Council are preparing to recommend to the . S. R. B. that a body of experts be set up to determine a separate deferment policy for scientific man-
power. At present the Selective Service local boards handle all deferments. According to information now available, the new plans would require scientists and technicians to register and to list their skills with the proposed organization. In turn, the new organization would send them to the armed forces, to industry, or to laboratories. The societies feel that this kind of mobilization would channel men to places where they would do the defense effort the most good. One of the problems that still has to be ironed out is that of determining the scope of such a program. Should all scientists down to the level of Bachelors of Science be i ncluded~ Should all scientists, regardless of age or draft status, be included~ In view of these qu"estions, it is quite understandable that scientists all over the country are eagerly awaiting this report.
OTHER INFORMATION OF INTEREST Enlisted Reservists Recall On October 28 the Army announced that, except for a limited number of Medical and Counter-Intelligence Corps Specialists, no further involuntary recalls would be made of Enlisted Reserve Corps personnel. This does not apply to Reserve · officers. All Page 672
orders issued as late as October 28, however must be complied with. The Army further stated that 1800 Enlisted Medical Reservists will be called up to staff various hospitals. This is a reduction of 1600 in the figure previously issued by the Army.
PRACTICAL PHARMACY EDITION Occupational Deferments "For your own benefit, as well as for the welfare of the nation, do not ask occupational deferment for men under 26, except in the most extreme cases," advised Colonel Daniel O. Omer, General Counsel of the Selective Service System, at the October conference of the American Management Association, Inc. For the foreseeable future, he added, management can plan to keep men from 26 to 35, but should develop plans for their release in case of an emergency. As for men above 35, management can plan to keep then1 on indefinitely, Col. Orner stated. Blood Program Expansion The blood program is leading the way in local civil defense planning. The American Red Cross now has 35 regional blood centers and is in th e process of adding seven more to its network. To aid in defense preparedness other centers are being established in metrop01itan areas by private blood banks, and medical and hospital authorities. A new bloodmobile laboratory, capable of fractionating blood into its life-giving components on the spot and within two hours after withdrawal, was demonstrated in Schenectady, N. Y., at the October meeting
of the National Academy of Sciences. Developed by Dr. Edwin J. Cohn and his associates at Harvard, the laboratory was described as "a major development in the effort to decentralize the handling and processing of blood and blood derivatives needed for public health and security." Blood Substitutes Nothing has yet been discovered that can totally substitute for blood; but, new discoveries being made promise to alleviate the desperate need for blood in emergencies. An article on this page of THE JOURNAL explains a recent recommendation that the drinking of large quantities of salt solution is effective emergency treatment in lessening shock and saving lives until patients can be taken to areas where they can receive blood. New developments in the use of three chemicals- d8xtran, periston, and a solution of gelatin- as substitutes for blood plasma, have been reported by Dr. John S. Lundy of the Mayo Clinic. Dextran, a by-product of sugar and a Swedish-developed chemical, has been given to 1500 patients for fall in blood pressure while under anesthetic. In five or six cases it was considered of lifesaving importance, relieving patients who had not benefited from blood transfusions.
SALT SOLUTION EMERGENCY SHOCK TREATMENT A group of leading American surgeons has advised the Public Health Service that, in a vast majority of case~, salt water taken by mouth is as effective as blood plasma in the emergency treatment of shock from serious burns and other injuries. Tn general terms, the treatment calls for approximately one level teaspoonful of table salt and onehalf teaspoonful of baking soda for each quart of water. A number of quarts are required each day. --rhe only limitations on the amount consumed is the ability of the patient to consume the saline solution. Since great thirst accompanies serious burn inj ury it has been found that patients will voluntarily COIlsume a sufficient amount of the solution, which is quite palatable. No other drinking fluid is permitted in th~ first few days following injury. Jn releasing the recommendation, Surgeon General Leonard A. Scheele said: "The findings are of particular importance in a period of war emergency, since it is estimated that in the event of atomic bombing about 60% of the surviving bombed population might suffer from burns. This figure, moreover, does not account for injuries other than burns in which shock also might be present. "Salt water offers an easy, practical method for the treatment of shock which follows serious burns
and other injuries. It is particularly important in any period of large-scale disaster. Unless the patient is disoriented, is in acute collapse or is among the very small percentage who become nauseated by drinking large quantities of the salt solution, the sodium chloride formula will be effective when administered by mouth." Dr. Scheele emphasized the fact that treatment by saline sol ution will in no sense decrease the need for whole blood. Rather, he pointed out, sodium chloride would provide an effective immediate form of treatment which could be administered by anyone. "The recommendation of the Surgery Study Section, * while of enormous benefit in the event of large-scale disaster, must not be construed as lessening in any way the importance of blood bank programs," he said. "Whole blood and plasma are still essential. "We believe that the salt water method of treatment should also be included, however, in Red Cross training programs so that the necessary information may be fully available to all first aid personnel, including firemen, policemen, air raid wardens, and housewives."
* Advisary body to the
Not,joDDI Institutes oC Health.
Page 673