Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:Introduction to Health Care and Public Health in the U.S.
Unit:Public Health - Part 1
Lecture:History of Public Health in the U.S.
Slide content:History of Public Health in the U.S. 1798: An act establishing a federal network of hospitals for ill/disabled merchant seamen. Marine Hospital Fund was created: The f ederal government deducted monthly sums from seamens wages. Marine Hospital Fund later became the Marine Hospital Service, the predecessor of the Public Health Service 6
Slide notes:The United States was not the first country to work with public health. However, public health in the U.S. is the focus of our review. The start of public health in the U.S. is usually credited to 1798, when legislation was passed to establish a federal network of hospitals for ill or disabled merchant sailors, known as the Marine Hospital Fund, which later became the Marine Hospital Service . The federal government deducted a portion of the sailors wages to help underwrite this effort. Please note that public health had earlier beginnings in other parts of the world which are not addressed here. 6