The Purpose and Place of Our Sanitariums
By LAURENCE A. SENSEMAN, M.D., Medical Director, Fuller Memorial Sanitarium, Massachusetts
What is the true purpose of our sanitariums? They are to be art instrumentality for reaching people, are they not? They are to be an educating power to teach our principles and to advance God's closing work on the earth. (Counsels on Health, PP- 207, 554)
I remember a Catholic priest that I took care of in our sanitarium, believe it or not. He used to turn his collar the other way, and be one of us. One remark that he made was significant. He went to another institution, and then he came back to our sanitarium, and said, "Doctor, that institution has lost its purpose and its cause. It used to be a Seventh-day Adventist institution, but it has lost its purpose." We hope we will not lose that cause for which we have established our institutions. Next I want to bring you something from the Testimonies, volume 4:
"A special effort should be made to secure the services of conscientious, Christian workers. It is the purpose of God that a health institution should be organized and controlled exclusively by S.D. Adventists; and when unbelievers are brought in to occupy responsible positions, an influence is presiding there that will teil with great weight against the sanitarium."— Page 556.
Surely our institutions should encourage Adventist people, and offer places of opportunity for them to work. I say that advisedly. Sometimes it works the other way. It is hard to get Adventist workers in our institutions. Therefore, we have to take folks who are not Seventh- day Adventists, and that creates problems. Those who manage our institutions should en courage members of their local church to work for them, remembering that a worker is worthy of his hire. Counsels on Health has something to say on our sanitariums in relation to church activities:
"Never should a sanitarium be established as an enterprise independent of the church. . . . Medical missionary work is in no case to be divorced from the gospel ministry. The Lord has specified that the two shall be as closely connected as the arm is with the body. Without this union neither part of the work is complete."—Page 524.
Reading further, in the Testimonies, volume 4, we learn that our sanitariums should have "scientific ability, with moral and spiritual power." Note:
"God did not intend that this institution should be carried on after the order of any other health institute in the land; but that it should be one of the most effectual instrumentalities in his hands of giving light to the world. It should stand forth with scientific ability, with moral and spiritual power, and as a faithful sentinel of reform in all its bearings; and all who act a part in it should be reformers, having respect to its rules, and heeding the light of health reform now shining upon us as a people."—Page 556.
We often speak of medical work as the right arm, but on page 212 of Counsels on Health we read that "our sanitariums are the right hand of the gospel." I was interested in that testimony about the hand. As a psychiatrist I have been interested in the brain, and especially in the area for interpretation "of the thumb, which is the major part of our hand, and different from any of the other fingers. We have a large representation in the brain for the thumb and the hand. Think of the special movements of the hand. I remember hearing a lecturer at Loma Linda one time who said: "Doc tors, if you ever want to make a fortune, study the hand. There is no one doing work particularly on the hand. Very few doctors have studied it." When you think of the amount of motion of the hand you can begin to realize just what value the medical missionary work can be if used properly.
Our sanitariums are to be more than mere institutions. They are to be memorials for God. "Our sanitariums in all their departments should be memorials for God, His instrumentalities for sowing the seeds of truth in human hearts. This they will be if rightly conducted." —Ibid., pp. 207, 208. I think that "if" is an important one. Institutions established should be rightly conducted. God designs that the sanitariums He has established shall stand forth as beacon lights of warning and reproof. (Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 582.)
If our literature gets into the proper hands, it can do a great deal. And our institutions are doing a great deal along this line in disseminating our belief, because every patient who comes to the sanitarium has three or four relatives. In the short period of time that we have been in existence as the Fuller Memorial Sanitarium, we have admitted more than seven teen hundred patients. Multiply that by four, and you know that there are that many people who know about Adventists through our sanitarium. And I am sure it could be true in your institution also.
Our literature is excellent, especially the Life and Health magazine. It is a wonderful medium for getting into the homes. I remember a doctor who was the mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for a while, and also the surgeon of the hospital, and one of my best friends. He said to me one day, "You know what I like about that Adventist medical journal [Life and Health] of yours?" What do you think he said? I was surprised to hear that it was the recipes. Well, I was rather amused at that, coming from a surgeon. But they appealed to him. Those were the things that marked the Adventists to him. We never can tell how our work is going 'to affect people.
As a group we should assist in the local church activities. I believe it is our privilege and our pleasure to do that. Personally I have enjoyed my relationship with our little church at Pawtucket. I have seen it double in size in the last ten years. I have appreciated the opportunity of serving as an officer in that church for those years.
Our sanitarium staff members can act as officers in the local church without jeopardizing their influence in their institution. I do not feel that my general practice or my specialty is harmed in the least because I serve as an officer in our local Seventh-day Adventist church. Recently I had a little difficulty with my car, and I drove to church in my wife's car. The next day the head of the pediatrics service said, "Dr. Senseman, where were you yesterday? You weren't at church."
I said, "I certainly was."
He said, "Your car wasn't out front." People are watching us, and many of them are for us, not against us. I would hate to feel that folks were against Seventh-day Adventists. I think they are a little jealous of what we have, what we stand for. We have something to be proud of. And if we are proud of it ourselves, others will be proud of it. As sanitarium workers we must exercise our own confidence and faith in our work.
What type of worker should we have in our institutions? I think this is an important subject, because our institutions are exactly what our -workers are. As I have told our group at the sanitarium so many times, "To the patients you are the Fuller Memorial Sanitarium. You represent that institution. If you are kind and pleasant, they will like the sanitarium." One nurse or one person working in an institution can destroy the influence of the entire group. It is important, then, that we have consecrated workers.
"The management of so large- and important an institution as the Sanitarium necessarily involves great responsibility, both in .temporal and spiritual matters. . . . All connected with this institution should qualify themselves for the faithful discharge of their God given responsibility. . . . All should study prayerfully how they can themselves become most useful, and make this retreat for the sick a grand success."—Ibid., p. 554-
I remember when I first became connected with the sanitarium which I represent, I used to say to a patient, "I think a period in the sanitarium will be helpful to you," and there would be a blank look on his face.
"Sanitarium?"
"Fuller Memorial Sanitarium." Still blank looks. Then I would explain to him what it was, and I would take him over there in my car. That is the way we got patients into the sanitarium at first. I had to take them over there in my own car. And then when they became interested, and knew what we were doing there, they would tell others. Soon we had patients saying, "Doctor, I would like to go to the sanitarium." When the first patient said that I almost fell out of my chair. I can re member the first doctor who called me and said, "Doctor, would you accept a patient of mine in the sanitarium?" Then I thought we had really turned the' corner. Last year we were privileged to serve forty doctors' patients. We were happy about that.
What kind of patients are we to admit to our sanitariums? There is testimony in volume 7, page 109, on the type of patients we are to take:
"We are to invite everyone,—the high and the low, the rich and the poor, all sects and classes,—to share the benefits of our medical institutions. We receive into our institutions people of all denominations. But as for ourselves; we are strictly denominational; we are sacredly denominated by God and are under His theocracy."
Let us pray that the Lord will impress the hearts of all, especially our doctors now going through the College of Medical Evangelists, that we need "many small sanitariums."
Conducting a Cooking Class
Lesson I. The Balanced Diet
By ESTHER CHRISTENSEN REISWIG, Syracuse, New York
The importance of a balanced diet cannot be overemphasized.
"Of the two billion people in the world, well over two thirds are badly fed."—Life.
"There are five groups of nutrients found in our different foods, namely proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Cellulose and water are also provided by our food, and are essential to health. Now, we shall place these essentials of diet into three groups according to their uses in the body.
Group I
"GROWTH AND REPAIR FOODS:—These are the protein foods and should constitute about 10 per cent of our daily food. Some are milk, eggs, cottage cheese, lentils, peas, beans, certain grains, and nuts. Lesser amounts are found in vegetables.
Group II
"HEAT AND ENERGY FOODS:—Carbohydrates and fats are the foods that keep us warm and give us capacity for work. They should constitute approximately 90 per cent of our diet."
Carbohydrate foods: cereals, breads, tapioca, legumes, vegetables, fruits, cane sugar, molasses, honey, and maple sugar."
Fats: olives, nuts, olive oil, vegetable oils, margarine, milk, cream, butter, eggs, and avocados. Proteins may contribute a small percentage of heat and energy.
Group III
"REGULATORS OF THE BODY PROCESSES:— These may be divided into four groups: water, food minerals, vitamins, and cellulose, or bulk. These are found in the natural foods. It is this group that man's inventions have done so much to eliminate and destroy in the process of pre paring the food for the' table, beginning with depleted soil, then the transportation and storage, the milling process, and the treatment in the kitchen as well."—Lessons in Nutrition and Cookery (mimeographed), Lesson i, p. 3. (Here use large chart, Seven Principles, from the American Institute of Baking or chart at end of this lesson.)
With a little study one will be able to provide proper food for the family table.
Use the General Conference Medical Department's large chart of the basic seven for class- work.
Daily Food Requirements
Green and yellow vegetables: one large serving.
Oranges, tomatoes, grapefruit, raw cabbage, or other raw greens: one serving.
Potatoes and other vegetables and fruits: one or more potatoes, two servings of others.
Milk and milk products: use as a. beverage or in cooked foods. Adults, one pint; children, three fourths to one quart.
Proteins and eggs: one serving. One egg about four times a week.
Bread, flour, and cereals: whole grain or enriched. Two slices of bread or equivalent at each meal.
Butter and fortified margarine (vitamin A added) : two or three level tablespoons. Place a balanced menu on flannelboard. For the full-color food models send to National Dairy Council, in North Canal Street, Chicago 6, Illinois. (Cost, $1.25.) These are to be cut out, and a small piece of flannel is to be pasted on the back to use on the flannelboard. They help to make many things clear. The following suggestions are represented on the flannelboard. They are colorful and look very appetizing. (Better Meals for Less, pp. 8, 9.)
Breakfast
Cereals:
Bread (or toast) and butter (one slice)
Cereal (one serving),
cooked or toasted Eggs
Milk or nuts
Fruit (two large servings, one raw, if possible)
Dinner
Soup (if desired)
Vegetables: one from each group: raw, starchy, green leafy
Bread (one or two slices) and butter or olives
Protein foods: one serving
Simple dessert (not fruit)
Supper
Fruit (two servings, one raw if possible) in salad or dessert
Bread or cereal, butter or olives
Milk (plain or in soup)
The following menus give specific foods whereby the general suggestions may be crystallized.
Breakfast,—Rolled oats, milk, whole-wheat bread or toast, applesauce, banana.
Dinner.—Cottage cheese, baked potato, spin ach, raw carrot and celery salad, honey and graham cake.
Supper.—Green peas, sliced peaches, prunes, rye bread, butter. Factors that influence amount of food eaten:
1. Muscular activity
2. Size and weight and height
3. Age
4. Climatic conditions
5. Pregnancy and lactation
6. Sex
Demonstration: preparation of vegetables for cooking. Cook cabbage and spinach five to eight minutes. Cook vegetables until just done, not longer. Pressure cooker best for most vegetables.
Overcooking: (1) destroys color, (2) injures pleasant flavors, (3) destroys vitamins, and (4) causes discomfort during digestion. Steaming usually loses less nourishment than boiling.
Do not use soda in cooking vegetables, for it destroys vitamins.
Use as little water as possible. Save all water.
Start cooking- strong vegetables uncovered, because this allows the strong flavors with acids and gases to escape. This ensures a more delicate flavor and color, and makes them more digestible.
Use boiling water to start vegetables, except in soups.
MEMORY GEM:—"The controlling power of the appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan."—Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 491.
The accompanying diagram can be made on a large sheet of paper or cardboard.
Foods fall into three general classes: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. In addition, there are four helpers: minerals, water, vitamins, and bulk. It takes all seven to make a balanced diet. The chart here shown helps to impress upon us the amounts of each to be used. It can be shown on a flannelboard or blackboard, and used over and over for review.
CONCLUSION: If we can learn to get all these food nutrients in their proper proportions and amounts in our diet, day by day, we shall be getting a balanced diet. We shall have heat energy and a good supply of vitality; the wear ing out of the body will be perfectly repaired; growth' will continue without any excess to become a burden to the eliminative organs; and all the life processes will be provided for. Then everything else will be equal, and we shall en joy maximum health, that much coveted and sought for condition of the human body.
Medical Missionaries' C. M. E. Wives,
By DOROTHY JOHNSON, Junior Medical Student's Wife, Los Angeles
A faculty member's wife at Loma Linda (Elsa Emery Lonergan) is the leader of the prayer and Bible study band for medical students' wives at Loma Linda. She says one of the purposes of the group is "to study what we as wives of medical missionaries can do to help our husbands, and to hasten Christ's coming."
She also says: "Our study group and prayer band is voluntary, and not all attend. The existence of the band is announced, and about the same proportion at tend as would attend the Wednesday evening prayer meeting in one of our churches.
"I'm so thrilled over this work. I realize it is only a small work, but I'm so grateful to our heavenly Father for the blessing and friendship it has brought. After we have prayed and studied together for several months, we are very close to one another."
It is more than a meeting. Characters are being shaped for future leadership. The following report and that of the ministerial students' wives' auxiliary at Union College (see March MINISTRY, p. 13) might well inspire other groups at our large centers to do likewise.—EDITOR
What are some of the extracurricular activities offered a medical student's wife while her husband is studying medicine at C.M.E.? For one thing there is a Bible study group which meets in one of the faculty homes at Loma Linda. These meetings are Sunday evening from seven-thirty till nine.
I was introduced to this group in December, 1947, when my husband was a freshman medical student. The meetings had been started several years before that. A general invitation is given each year during a meeting of the J.W.A. (Junior Wives' Auxiliary). All the medical students' wives and any other interested ones are invited.
The chief purpose of these study groups is to prepare the young doctors' wives to be true Christian helpmeets to their husbands. The old saying goes, "A woman can make or break a man." And it is especially true that when a doctor is rushed from sunrise till midnight the spiritual values held by his wife will greatly mold his way of thinking.
At these meetings the Bible is the main text book, but since those who attend find themselves interested in medicine, the Ministry of Healing is studied chapter by chapter. Come with me to a sample meeting. On the door we find a little note, "Come on in." Once inside, you will meet our hostess, a lovely faculty woman, who gives of her time once a week to study and share with us things of great Christian value. I want you to-meet the girls who come also. Sometimes there are only eight or ten, and sometimes there are twenty or more.
We gather around the cozy fireplace and take turns reading a story from Loma Linda Messages, or a thrilling letter that has just come from overseas. By now all the girls have arrived, and 'we bow together as one of the group asks God's guidance on our study. As we study Ministry of Healing we each read a paragraph. There are many breaks for discussion, and corresponding thoughts from the Bible or the Testimonies are introduced. Thought-stirring sentences are reread for emphasis.
Bible instructors and other women of the community meet with us to share their experiences. Recreation, dress, how to give Bible studies, stories of conversion, the prophecies, the closing events of time, and many other topics are presented throughout the year.
A little before nine o'clock (often we are too engrossed to stop before nine) we kneel as each one offers a short prayer. In the beauty of quietness we feel the nearness of God.
After prayer, on our way out, we stop to ask about the food bundles going to Germany, the work among the Navajos, the progress of the branch Sabbath school, or the destitute mother with ten children. There is an endless stream of mission work to be done.
The lessons learned during these meetings remain for many future days. Is there such a sanctuary in your town where the young or old may gather to search for hidden treasure?' It's so much easier searching together.
