United States Public Health Service

History of the United States Public Health Service

The United States Public Health Service (PHS) was founded first by President John Adams in 1798 as a loose network of hospitals to support the health of American seamen. It is the uniformed service of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Related Topics:
John Adams - 1798 - Hospital - Seamen - United States Department of Health and Human Services

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The origins of the Public Health Service may be traced to the passage of an act in 1798 that provided for the care and relief of sick and injured merchant seamen. The earliest marine hospitals created to care for the seamen were located along the East Coast, with Boston being the site of the first such facility; later they were also established along inland waterways, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Coasts.

Related Topics:
1798 - Marine hospitals - East Coast - Boston - Great Lakes - Gulf of Mexico - Pacific

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A reorganization in 1870 converted the loose network of locally controlled hospitals into a centrally controlled Marine Hospital Service, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The position of Supervising Surgeon (later Surgeon General) was created to administer the Service, and John Maynard Woodworth was appointed as the first incumbent in 1871. He moved quickly to reform the system and adopted a military model for his medical staff, instituting examinations for applicants and putting his physicians in uniforms. Woodworth created a cadre of mobile, career service physicians who could be assigned as needed to the various marine hospitals. The uniformed services component of the Marine Hospital Service was formalized as the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps by legislation enacted in 1889. At first open only to physicians, over the course of the twentieth century, the Corps expanded to include dentists, sanitary engineers, pharmacists, nurses, sanitarians, scientists, and other health professionals.

Related Topics:
1870 - Washington, D.C. - Surgeon General - 1871 - Military - Physician - Public Health Service Commissioned Corps - 1889 - Dentist - Pharmacist - Nurse - Scientist - Health professional

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