FAQs

Can you suggest some books that would tell me more about the history of the PHS?

Furman, Bess. A Profile of the United States Public Health Service, 1798-1948. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education, & Welfare, 1973. Out of print

Mullan, Fitzhugh. Plagues and Politics: The Story of the United States Public Health Service. New York: Basic Books, 1989.

Williams, Ralph Chester. The United States Public Health Service, 1798-1950. Washington, D.C.: Commissioned Officers Association of the United States Public Health Service, 1951. Out of print

When was the Public Health Service Created?

The Public Health Service traces its roots back to a 1798 act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen. The act established a Federal system of providing health care and hospitals for America's merchant seamen. The Marine Hospital Service, as it was called, was assigned increasing responsibilities of a public health nature, such as quarantine and medical inspection of immigrants, beginning in the late nineteenth century. To reflect these additional duties, the name of the Service was changed to the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service in 1902. As the Service continued to expand its responsibilities in the field of health, the name was changed again in 1912 to the Public Health Service.

What does the Public Health Service consist of today?

The Public Health Service today is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It consists of the Office of Public Health and Science (headed by the Assistant Secretary for Health), ten Regional Health Administrators, and the following eight operating divisions: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); Indian Health Service (IHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

In what departments has the Public Health Service (PHS) been located during its history?

The Marine Hospital Service (forerunner of the PHS) and subsequently the PHS were based in the Treasury Department until 1939. In that year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Federal Security Agency (FSA), which brought together the Federal programs concerned with health and social welfare (e.g., education, social security), including PHS. In 1953, the FSA was raised to a cabinet-level agency known as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW). When the Department of Education was created as a separate entity in 1980, DHEW was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services, and the PHS remains a part of that Department today.

Why does the Surgeon General wear a uniform?

The Surgeon General wears a uniform because he is the head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of seven uniformed services of the United States. The Corps is a uniformed, but not a military, service (although the President can militarize the Corps in times of emergency involving national defense). The Public Health Service began as the Marine Hospital Service, a Federal system of health care for merchant seamen. The first Supervising Surgeon (later called Surgeon General) of the Service was appointed in 1871, and he decided to organize the service along military lines. He created a mobile cadre of career professionals (at first just physicians, but later the Corps expanded to include other health professionals). In 1889, the Commissioned Corps was formalized by law.

Is the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service the Country's Only Surgeon General?

No, the Army, Navy, and Air Force also have Surgeons General, who oversee medical matters in their respective services.

What is the source of the often-quoted remark by Surgeon General William Stewart in the late 1960s that we had essentially defeated infectious diseases and could "close the book" on them?

Although this remark has often been cited in the literature, the Office of the PHS Historian has never been able to locate the source of the statement, or to confirm that Dr. Stewart actually made such a comment. We have asked Dr. Stewart about it, and he cannot recall whether or not he made this statement. When the statement is quoted in the literature, in a variety of wordings, generally no source is given, or the author refers back to some earlier secondary source which itself does not include a citation. Laurie Garrett, in her book The Coming Plague, gives a reference to a speech that Stewart gave at a conference in 1967 as her source. However, we have checked the published version of the speech and it does not contain the statement or anything close to it. So while we cannot say for certain that Dr. Stewart did not make this statement, we also cannot confirm that he did or provide a source. We would welcome hearing from anyone who has been able to locate a definitive source for this quotation.

Does the Public Health Service have specific information about individual immigrants to the United States?

No. The Public Health Service performed the medical inspections on arriving immigrants beginning in1891. For example, PHS doctors examined arriving immigrants at Ellis Island from when it opened in 1892. The Office of the PHS Historian can provide general information about the nature of these examinations, the medical causes for exclusion, etc. We do not have, however, information on individual immigrants, nor are we aware of any source of such information in existing PHS records.