# children’s clinic had an X-ray lab and
“Surgical division. Since then we’ve had
i Countless coughs cured in the physical _
yw ‘Nerapy department with ultra-violet
of light treatments, micro-waves and
@ Other apparatus. We've had our eyes

y

€xamined, teeth filled and orthodontics

# Work done in the local clinic. Right now
i My husband is receiving massages and
# learning specific exercises in the
i Clinie’s gym for a back ailment: Since
a! \sjust a few doors away he stops by the
) Clinic on his way to work.

|

Aside from elaborate physical re-

i
j’ Sources, each clinic has a team of

Specialists on regular duty. I counted 13
Pediatricians and 18 specialists in the

s Children’s clinic alone — serving about
yt 10,000 kids, -.

|

There are times I wish there weren’t

i 80 Many specialists under one roof. Be-

fi
gh
ott he

fore the pediatrician was satisfied that ©

We had found the cause of Andre’s
adaches she had: us run around the

i building to the oculist, otolaryngologist,
if Neurologist, cardiologist, ever to the
ef Physiotherapist. Andre also went for

lood tests, an electrocardiogram and

e' an X-ray of the skull. But at least we

ie!

th

nt
i
6
n

Were convinced there was no undisco-
vered cause.
On “prophylactic day,” the usually
Tanquil clinic is overcome with noise
and bustle. Large sections of the popu-
lation — all nursery and grade ‘school
children;-students, expectant-mothers,
Workers in hazardous professions or
aving regular contact with children as

Nursery school staffs, invalids, anyone

i

aving suffered a heart ailment, tuber-
Culosis, ete, — are checked out regu-
larly by the various specialists to catch
any illness, often before the patient
himself is aware of it. All women are
Pequired to be checked. at least once a
year for early signs of cancer and men
Over 40. must have-an electrocardio-
gram annually,

__80, when an entire grade of a local

School is taken out of classes to make

the rounds of the specialists, it’s a holi- -

day for the kids.

Once a foreign tourist friend of mine,
“howing that medical care is free to all
in the Soviet Union, called the doctor to
Wh hotel room for a case of diarrhea.

at she didn’t count on was the
Oroughness of that care. Before she

€w it she was whisked to a. hospital

a kept there for five days. The physi-

i ans were taking no chances of import-
4g Some stomach virus. Since hos-
Pitalization is free and you continue to
Why 1 your salary while on sick leave,
vhy fight it? Unless you happen to be a
ie who-came to visit the Soviet cap-
The irony of the clinic is that if you
are really sick you're not to go to it.
sie the doctor will come to you. One
er when grandmother and our son
s Mmka had bronchitis at the same time,
were getting seven home visits daily
ag Medical personnel — two doctors’
Isits and two nurses administering five

Penicillin shots every day.
yo ™Mportant as the residential clinic is,
Udon’t have to entirely depend on it.
ee all, doctors vary and you may pre-
4 doctor outside your district. Most

office and factory workers have a clific

available through their place of work. -

Many large plants and organizations
build their own‘clinics. Thi§ provides a
second choice for many. Then there are

.the pay clinics where, for the price of

one to two rubles, you can choose your
specialists.. Also, any patient with a
specific problem can demand more ex-
pert help from one of the specialized
medical institutions throughout the
country, regardless of where the patient
is from.

Despite the wide use of modern
drugs and modern medical techniques,

“folk medicine, or I would say more ac-

, natural medicine, is still very
ore Musee plaster will be or-
dered by. the physician along with tet-
ramiacin. My reaction to it was about as
negative as it was to potty-training at

' five months. But after a decade of treat-

ing coughs and colds I’ve been con-
verted. In fact I’ve gone one step furth-
er. I’ve become so good at ‘‘cupping”’
that even the neighbors call me in some-
times to help. I have discovered a whole
medicine chest. in the meadow across
the street. Did you know that common
field daisies will disinfect a wound; oak
bark will cure gum and throat infec-
tions? Natural honey is terrific on
wounds or burns and nettle soup cured

Nurses conduct medical exercises with babies at the Maternity and Childhood Protection Institute in Azerbaijan, SSR.

my anemia so quickly that even the doc-
tor asked how I did it. Natural
medicines, besides their amazing effec-
tiveness, contain no chemicals and have
no side effects. :

The Soviet medical system is not
without weaknesses. Residential clinics
are sometimes. overcrowded. Many
hospital buildings are old and in need of
modernization. The field of dentistry is
not as advanced as it could be if more
modern equipment were available, and
so forth. Most of the problems are es-

sentially economic, and reflect the fact _

that Soviet medicine is still experienc-
ing growing pains. That is one reason
for the broad interest in a recent gov-
ernment resolution on health care,
which cites specific measures to over-
come existing weaknesses, including a
major program for government con-
struction of modern medical facilities
and the training of additional medical
personnel. :

But there are countless advantages.
My neighbor, Larissa, who just went to
work in a factory, didn’t show up for
work the second day on the job. Her

daughter had caught a cold. Larissa .

stayed home with her child for seven

‘days. Nonetheless, since she had been

working for over eight years, the fac-
tory had to pay 100% of her salary for

N. ignatyev

the week. In addition, my own stipend
for graduate school has been extended
in full for several months, based on the
total time I took off studies to attend my
sick children.

That all medical services in the
Soviet Union are free (and have no in-

. surance fees) is a fact I have known for

a long time. (It’s true it took me a few
months before I could get over the in-
stinct to grab my purse before heading
for the clinic.) Even Andre’s two years
of orthodontia have cost nothing. But I
must confess to my surprise when one
day the doctor offered me.a reservation
for my four-year-old son to spend two
months in the country under expert
medical care in a health resort for
cold-prone children, at absolutely no
cost.

Contrary to my expectations, being
free doesn’t seem to cut down on the
quality or number of medical facilities
available, nor are you dissuaded in any
way from using these facilities. Our
family must average at least one visit to
the clinic a week, and not because we
are particularly unhealthy. It’s just that
here you tend to go to the doctor with the
slightest question, you call him to the
house with the first signs of an illness,
and preventative healthcare becomes a
regular part of your family’s routine.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—July 21, 1978—Page 5