DR. VAN DELLENS HOW TO KEEP WELL The Flying Doctors Service, of the Australian outback, is a remarkable organization. Its personnel provides care to the isolated farmers living the central desert areas of that continent. This unique group was founded in 1928 by the Rev. John Flynn, whose epitaph reads HE BROUGHT gladness and rejoicing to the wilderness and solitary places. According to Dr. Jack H. Prince, years of planning and close cooperation between physicians, radio and aeronautic experts, and other men of vision were needed to perfect this plan. Pilots must be able to take off and land their planes on any kind of terrain Aussie Flying Medics Take Skill to Desert and in all kinds of weather, day or night, which they sometimes do by guess and by God. IT IS DIFFICULT to appreciate the service rendered without knowing something about the Australian outback. The continent is as large as the United States but almost all the inhabitants live in five cities ,in the south and eastern end of the country. The remaining millions of square miles in the north and central portions are occupied by bushmen and a handful of settlers. Australia is chiefly arid and up to 50 acres are needed to support each animal. As a result, the farms range in size from 10,000 acres to 10,000 square miles. Some of the ranch homes stand 90 miles from their front gate. The only communication with the outside is through radio transmitters. Many of the farms also are connected by a single telephone wire. The flying doctors have seven centers arranged in a circle, many hundreds of miles from more populous regions. When a physician is called because of illness or accident, he is landed near the home, where he either treats the patient on the spot or takes him to the hospital associated with his base. During the last few years flying dentists and nurses have been added to the service. The women of the outback, because of their isolation, have had to become selfsufficient. They are expert in delivering babies but appreciate a physicians help. The results are reflected in the fact that infant mortality in Australia is sec only only to that of New Zealand, which has the lowest rate in the world. How is this plan financed? A few year after its inauguration, when its practicability was determined, a group of citizens in Melbourne decided to take over the responsibility and formed the Aerial Medical Service of Australia. Because the average patient could not afford to pay the high cost of aerial transport and hospitalization, the service is supported by a number of voluntary taxes including contributions on every head of sheep and on picnics, races, dances, and other forms of amusement.