- United States Public Health Service
Infobox Government agency
agency_name = United States Public Health Service
logo_width = 140px
formed =1798
preceding1 =
preceding2 =
dissolved =
superseding =
jurisdiction =Federal government of the United States
headquarters =Washington, D.C.
employees =
budget =
chief1_name = AdmiralJoxel García
chief1_position = Assistant Secretary for Health
parent_agency = Department of Health and Human Services
child2_agency =United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
website = [http://www.usphs.gov www.usphs.gov]
footnotes =Organization of the Public Health Service
The
Public Health Service Act placed the United States Public Health Service (PHS) as the primary division of the Department of Health Education and Welfare (HEW), which later became theUnited States Department of Health and Human Services . The PHS is comprised of all Agency Divisions of Health and Human Services and the Commissioned Corps. The Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) oversees the PHS and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. [Organizational Chart of Health & Human Services, 2007] [http://www.hhs.gov/ash/]Agencies within the Public Health Service
*Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
*Administration on Aging (AoA)
*Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
*Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
*Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
*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)Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service
:"See
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps "The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) employs more than 6,000 public health professionals for the purpose of delivering public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science. Members of the Commissioned Corp often serve on the frontlines in the fight against disease and poor health conditions.As one of America's seven uniformed services, the PHS Commissioned Corps fills public health leadership and service roles within federal government agencies and programs. The PHS Commissioned Corps includes officers drawn from many professions, including environmental and occupational health, medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, psychology, social work, hospital administration, health record administration, diet, engineering, science, veterinary, and other health-related occupations.
Mission
The mission of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the United States. As the USA's uniformed service of public health professionals, the Commissioned Corps achieves its mission through:
* Rapid and effective response to public health needs
* Leadership and excellence in public health practices
* Advancement of public health scienceHistory
The origins of the Public Health Service can 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, withBoston being the site of the first such facility; later they were also established along inland waterways, theGreat Lakes , and theGulf of Mexico andPacific Coasts.A reorganization in
1870 converted the loose network of locally controlled hospitals into a centrally controlledMarine Hospital Service , with its headquarters inWashington, D.C. The position of Supervising Surgeon (later Surgeon General) was created to administer the Service, andJohn Maynard Woodworth was appointed as the first incumbent in1871 . He moved quickly to reform the system and adopted amilitary model for his medical staff, instituting examinations for applicants and putting hisphysician s in uniforms. Woodworth created a cadre of mobile, career service physicians who could be assigned as needed to the various marine hospitals. The commissioned officer corps (now known as the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service or thePublic Health Service Commissioned Corps ) was established by legislation in1889 . At first open only tophysician s, over the course of the twentieth century, the Corps expanded to includedentist s, physician assistants, sanitary engineers,pharmacist s,nurse s, sanitarians,scientist s, and otherhealth professional s.The scope of activities of the Marine Hospital Service also began to expand well beyond the care of merchant seamen in the closing decades of the
nineteenth century , beginning with the control ofinfectious disease .Quarantine was originally a state function rather than federal, but theNational Quarantine Act of 1878 vested quarantine authority to theMarine Hospital Service and the failed National Board of Health. Over the next half a century, the Marine Hospital Service increasingly took over quarantine functions from state authorities.As
immigration increased dramatically in the late nineteenth century, the Federal Government also took over the processing ofimmigrant s from the states, beginning in 1891. The Marine Hospital Service was assigned the responsibility for the medical inspection of arriving immigrants at sites such asEllis Island inNew York . Commissioned officers played a major role in fulfilling the Service's commitment to prevent disease from entering the country.Because of the broadening responsibilities of the Service, its name was changed in 1902 to the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, and again in 1912 to just the Public Health Service. The Service continued to expand its
public health activities as the nation entered the twentieth century, with the Commissioned Corps leading the way. As the century progressed, PHS commissioned officers served their country by controlling the spread of contagious diseases such assmallpox andyellow fever , conducting important biomedical research, regulating thefood and drug supply, providing health care to underserved groups, supplying medical assistance in the aftermath of disasters, and in numerous other ways.Today the mission of the Commissioned Corps of the PHS is "Protecting, promoting, and advancing the health and safety of the Nation."
Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male
In 1932, the Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks. It was called the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male."
The study initially involved 600 black men – 399 with syphilis, 201 who did not have the disease. The study was conducted without the benefit of patients' informed consent. Researchers told the men they were being treated for "bad blood," a local term used to describe several ailments, including syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. In truth, they did not receive the proper treatment needed to cure their illness. In exchange for taking part in the study, the men received free medical exams, free meals, and burial insurance. Although originally projected to last 6 months, the study actually went on for 40 years. It has been called "arguably the most infamous biomedical research study in U.S. history."
Uniforms of the United States Public Health Service
Officers of the
Public Health Service Commissioned Corps wear uniforms similar to those of theUnited States Navy or, when serving with the United States Coast Guard, Coast Guard uniforms, but with unique and distinctive PHS Corps devices and use rank insignia identical to that of Naval officers. Two different sets of rank titles are used. Most commonly used are the standard Navy rank titles. Also used are the historical titles that identify the specialty of the officer in the title. An officer in the grade of O-5 / Commander is a "Senior Surgeon." An officer in the grade of O-3 / Lieutenant is "Senior Assistant".http://www.marlowwhite.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=96-200 USPHS Sleeve Lacing] ]The headquarters of the U.S. Public Health Service are located in Washington D.C., and Rockville, Maryland.
Emergency response since 1999
Commissioned Corps emergency response teams are managed by the Office of the Surgeon General. They are trained and equipped to respond to public health crises and national emergencies, such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or terrorist attacks. The teams are multidisciplinary and are capable of responding to domestic and international humanitarian missions. Officers have responded to many such emergencies in the past, including:
1999—hospital center at Fort Dix, NJ, for Kosovo refugees
2001—terrorist attacks
2001—anthrax attacks
2004/2005—tsunami and earthquake in Indonesia
2005—hurricanes Katrina and Rita
2006—earthquake in Hawaii
2006—medicine contamination in PanamaExternal links
* [http://www.usphs.gov/ U.S. Public Health Service]
* [http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/ Office of the Surgeon General]
* [http://lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/apdb/phsHistory/ Office of the Public Health Service Historian]
* [http://www.blitzkriegbaby.de/ PHS history and WWII women's uniforms in color] ndash WWII US women's service organizations (WAC, WAVES, ANC, NNC, USMCWR, PHS, SPARS, ARC and WASP)" this="" article="" is="" based="" on="" the=""
public domain text [http://www.usphs.gov/html/history.html History of the Commissioned Corps, PHS] " ee also
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Public Health Service Act References
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