Flag of the United States Marine Hospital Service

The Marine Hospital Service was an organization of Marine Hospitals dedicated to the care of ill and disabled seamen in the

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

, the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

and other federal beneficiaries. The Marine Hospital Service evolved into the

U.S. Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant ...

. It was the point of origin for several components of the current Public Health Service, including the

Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, is the federal uniformed service of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and one of the ei ...

, the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

, and multiple programs now incorporated into the

Health Resources and Services Administration The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for peop ...

History

Background: Marine Hospital Fund

The origins of the system of Marine Hospitals can be traced to the passage, by the 5th Congress of the United States, of "

An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen was passed by the 5th Congress. It was signed by President John Adams on July 16, 1798. The Act authorized the deduction of twenty cents per month from the wages of seamen, for the sole purpos ...

" in 1798. This act created Marine Hospitals to care for sick seamen. The Marine Hospital Fund was placed under the Revenue Marine Service (a forerunner of the present-day

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

) within the Department of the Treasury. It was the first federal health law. It authorized a tax, which was the deduction of twenty cents per month from the wages of the seamen. This tax raised funds for physicians and to support the network of hospitals. Funding for the hospitals was provided by a mandatory tax of about 1% of the wages of all maritime sailors. (In 1884, the tax was abolished and in 1906 funds were dispensed by Congress.) The act led to the gradual creation of a network of hospitals along coastal and inland waterways. They were initially located along the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

, at the harbors of the major port cities, with

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

being the site of the first such facility, followed later by others including in the

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

vicinity at Curtis Bay. As the boundaries of the United States expanded, and harbors were built on other coasts, so too were marine hospitals. In the 1830s and 1840s they were built along inland waterways, the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

, and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. After the acquisition of the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

(1846) and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

(1848) hospitals were built in 1850s at

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

harbors. Following the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, public outcry and scandal surrounded the Marine Hospital Fund. In 1869, Dr.

John Shaw Billings John Shaw Billings (April 12, 1838 – March 11, 1913) was an American librarian, building designer, and surgeon. However, he is best known as the modernizer of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office of the Army. His work with Andrew Carn ...

, a prominent Army surgeon, was appointed to head an investigation of the Marine Hospital Fund. Dr. Billings found the hospital fund to be inadequate and completely disorganized.

Establishment

In June 1870 the 41st Congress formally converted the loose network of locally controlled marine hospitals, the Marine Hospital Fund, into a centrally controlled Marine Hospital Service, with its headquarters in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

This reorganization made the Marine Hospital Service into its own bureau within the Department of the Treasury. Dr.

John Maynard Woodworth John Maynard Woodworth (August 15, 1837 – March 14, 1879) was an American physician and member of the Woodworth political family. He served as the first Supervising-Surgeon General under president Ulysses S. Grant, then changed to Surgeon Gene ...

was subsequently appointed to the Service as "Supervising Surgeon." He transformed the service into a disciplined organization based on his experience in the Union Army as a surgeon. Dr. Woodworth required his physicians to be a mobile work force stationed where the service was in need, and he mandated the daily wear uniforms. This eventually led to the creation of the modern-day

. Dr. Woodworth, using Army-style heraldry, created the Marine Hospital Service fouled anchor and

caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...

seal which is used to this day by the Public Health Service. In 1873, Dr. Woodworth's title was changed to "Supervising Surgeon General," a forerunner of the modern-day office of

Surgeon General of the United States The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...

. Woodworth created a cadre of mobile, career service physicians, who could be assigned as needed to the various Marine Hospitals. The commissioned officer corps was established by legislation in 1889, and signed by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. At first open only to

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s, over the course of the 20th century, the Corps expanded to include

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

s, physician assistants, sanitary engineers,

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

environmental health officer Environmental Health Officers (also known as Public Health Inspectors or Environmental Health Practitioners) are responsible for carrying out measures for protecting public health, including administering and enforcing legislation related to enviro ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

s, and other types of

health professional A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

s. It is now known as the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.

Increasing scope

The scope of activities of the Marine Hospital Service began to expand well beyond the care of merchant seamen in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, beginning with the control of

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

. Starting in the mid-14th century, ships entering harbors were

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

d when any of the crew was sick. This practice was normal procedure at United States harbors, with quarantine originally a function of the individual states, rather than of the Federal Government. The National Quarantine Act of 1878 vested quarantine authority to the Marine Hospital Service. However, the Public Health Act of 1879 created the

National Board of Health The National Board of Health (NBH) was a short lived institution that operated from 1879 to 1883 in the United States. It was created during the third Session of the 45th Congress, listed as chapter 202 better known as the Public Health Act of 18 ...

, through which quarantine authority was shared with the U.S. Army and Navy; this arrangement was not reauthorized by Congress in 1883, and its powers reverted solely to the Marine Hospital Service.Smillie, W. G
''"The National Board of Health, 1879-1883"''
American Journal of Public Health and The Nation's Health (1943) 33(8):925-930. Over the next half a century, the Marine Hospital Service increasingly took over quarantine functions from individual state authorities.

The Marine Hospitals, as their name suggests, were hospitals constructed at key sea and river ports across the nation to provide health care for merchant marine sailors. Aside from the well-being of these sailors, the hospitals provided a key monitoring and gate-keeping function against

pathogenic In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

diseases. As

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

increased dramatically in the late 19th century, the Federal Government also took over the processing of

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s from the individual states, beginning in 1891. The Marine Hospital Service was assigned the responsibility for the medical inspection of arriving immigrants at sites such as

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

. Commissioned officers played a major role in fulfilling the Service's commitment to prevent disease from entering the country. As the nation grew, the scope of Marine Hospital Service's duties grew to include domestic and foreign quarantine and other national public health functions. Over time, the hospitals of the service were also expanded to include research and prevention work as well as the care of patients. Aside from merchant seamen, members of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, immigrants, Native Americans, other federal beneficiaries, and people affected by chronic and

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

diseases found a source for health care in the MHS and its hospitals. In 1899, the Marine Hospital Service first formed internal divisions: the Division of Marine Hospitals and Relief, Division of Domestic (Interstate) Quarantine, Division of Insular and Foreign Quarantine and Immigration, Division of Personnel and Accounts, Division of Sanitary Reports and Statistics, Division of Scientific Research and Sanitation, and Miscellaneous Division, although there were minor name changes after this time.

Transformation into Public Health Service

In 1902, the Marine Hospital Service was renamed the "Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service." In 1912, as the emphasis of its responsibilities shifted from sailors to general public health, the name was changed again to the "Public Health Service" to encompass its diverse and changing mission. Flag of the United States Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service

Flag of the United States Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service

The Division of Hospitals, which contained the Marine Hospital system, became part of the

Bureau of Medical Services The Bureau of Medical Services (BMS) was a unit of the United States Public Health Service (PHS) that existed in two incarnations. The first was one of three principal operating agencies of PHS from 1943 until 1966, while the second was a divis ...

in 1943, and was eventually renamed as a different Bureau of Medical Services within the

Health Services Administration The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for peopl ...

in 1973.Alt URL
/ref> Large new buildings were constructed for many Marine Hospitals in the 1920s and 1930s, and the system reached its peak of 30 hospitals in 1943. A wave of closings in 1944–1953 mainly targeted hospitals that had not been upgraded, and another wave during 1965–1970 closed the remaining hospitals at inland locations, leaving eight general hospitals and the National Leprosarium operating. The system was abolished in 1981, with the last eight general hospitals transferred to other organizations, and the remaining functions of the Bureau of Medical Services merged into the present

Bureau of Primary Health Care The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA helps fund, staff and support a national network of health clinics fo ...

within the

(HRSA). PHS would however continue to operate the National Leprosarium until 1999. Other pre-1912 divisions of the Marine Hospital Service have descendants that operate to the present day: * The Division of Domestic Quarantine became the Division of States Relations and then the

Bureau of State Services The Bureau of State Services (BSS) was one of three principal operating agencies of the United States Public Health Service (PHS) from 1943 until 1966. The bureau contained the PHS divisions that administered cooperative services to U.S. states ...

in 1943. This bureau would eventually give rise to the modern

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

(CDC), as well as the HRSA

Bureau of Health Workforce The Bureau of Health Workforce is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA programs train health care professionals and place them where they are needed m ...

and

Healthcare Systems Bureau The Healthcare Systems Bureau is part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Overview HRSA oversees the nation's organ and tissue donation and transplantation sy ...

. * The Division of Scientific Research became the

. The

Environmental Health Divisions The Environmental Health Divisions was a unit of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) that focused on environmental health, existing in various forms from 1913 until 1970. It is the primary direct predecessor of the U.S. Environmental Protection A ...

(predecessor of the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health), and the

Division of Industrial Hygiene The Division of Industrial Hygiene was a division of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) with responsibility for occupational safety and health programs. It existed from 1914 until 1971, when it became the National Institute for Occupational Saf ...

(predecessor of the

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the C ...

), were spun off from it in the mid-20th century. * The Division of Foreign Quarantine eventually became the CDC

Division of Global Migration and Quarantine The Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) is the part of the U.S. government responsible for U.S. Quarantine Stations and issuing quarantine orders. It is part of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases with ...

. * The Division of Sanitary Reports and Statistics was an ancestor of the CDC

National Center for Health Statistics The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a U.S. government agency that provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the public health of the American people. It is a unit of the Centers for Disease Control ...

. Today, the records for these institutions sit in storage at the

National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. Its ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

and the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.

Hospitals

The hospitals themselves were, by the middle of the 19th century, fairly imposing and architecturally grand structures in many cases. As long as ample federal funding was available for their construction, these hospitals were impressive examples of government-provided health care. The hospitals of the early 20th century in major port cities such as

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

displayed ornate architectural detail and reflected many of the changes sweeping medicine at the time. In addition to the major hospitals, many lower-class hospitals and clinics existed. A chronological gallery of hospitals constructed prior to 1912 follow, showing the year operations began as a U.S. Marine Hospitals. Not all hospitals are shown. Structures that are still extant are marked with an asterisk (*). 1789 CastleWilliam BostonHarbor MassachusettsMagazine.jpg, Temporary

hospital at Castle Island, 1800 Norfolk Marine Hospital 4.tiff,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

hospital, 1800 Boston Marine Hospital 2.tiff, Second Boston hospital at

Charlestown Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

, 1804 Boston Marine Hospital 3.tiff, Fourth Boston hospital in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 40,787. With a total area of just 2.46 s ...

, 1827 U.S. Marine Hospital, Staten Island, NY (14359401805).jpg, Stapleton, Staten Island hospital, 1831* Charleston U.S. Marine Hospital 2021a.jpg, Charleston, South Carolina hospital, 1833* U.S. Marine Hospital, Mobile, Alabama.jpg, Mobile, Alabama hospital, 1843* Maui-Lahaina-USSeamensHospital-front.JPG,

Lahaina, Hawaii Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Laha ...

hospital, 1844* Key West Marine Hospital.tiff,

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, Florida hospital, 1845* Old Marine Hospital NOLA 1845 B Norman.jpg, First

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

hospital at

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, 1847 United States Marine Hospital, Natchez, Mississippi.jpg,

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

hospital, 1852 U.S. Marine Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky.jpg, Louisville, Kentucky hospital, 1852* Cleveland Marine Hospital 1896.jpg,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

hospital, 1852 Chicago Marine Hospital 1871.jpg, First

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

hospital at

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. ...

, 1852 Fort Anderson. Fort Anderson, Paducah, Kentucky, and the camp of the 6th Illinois Cavalry, April, 1862 - sketched by A.E. Mathews, 31st Regt. O.V.U.S.A. LCCN92508857.jpg, Paducah, Kentucky hospital, 1852 U.S. Marine Hospital, Rincon Point, San Francisco LCCN2002723032.jpg, First

hospital at Rincon Point, 1854 Chelsea Marine Hospital 4.tif, Fifth Boston hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts, 1857* Old Detroit Marine Hospital.jpg,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

hospital, 1857 Marine Hospital, southeast corner of Marine Avenue and Miami Street.jpg,

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

hospital, 1858 Marine Hospital - Portland, Maine.JPG, Portland, Maine hospital, 1859* Good Samaritan Hospital 1896.png, First

Cincinnati hospital Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, 1860 US Marine Hospital NOLA Great South.jpg, Second New Orleans hospital, never completed, abandoned 1860 Photocopy of drawing (A. H. Bowman) FRONT AND SIDE ELEVATIONS - Marine Hospital, Galena, Jo Daviess County, IL HABS ILL,43-GALA,35-1.tif,

Galena, Illinois Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The ci ...

hospital, 1861* U. S. Marine Hospital (3678982250).jpg, Second Chicago hospital, 1873 San Francisco Marine Hospital 2.tiff, Second San Francisco hospital at

the Presidio ''The Presidio'' is a 1988 American crime film directed by Peter Hyams and starring Sean Connery and Mark Harmon. Hyams also handled the cinematography and the score was composed by Bruce Broughton. Plot At the Presidio Army base in San Fran ...

, 1875 Martha's Vineyard Museum - frontside.jpg, Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts hospital, 1879* Historic American Buildings Survey, Edgar D. Tyler, Photographer March 4, 1934 NORTH ELEVATION. - Marine Hospital, Third and Kilgour Streets, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH HABS OHIO,31-CINT,6-2.tif, Second Cincinnati hospital in the former Kilgour Mansion, 1882 New Orleans Marine Hospital 1928.png, Third New Orleans hospital, 1883 Port Townsend Marine Hospital.jpg,

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to ...

hospital, 1883 National Ornamental Metal Museum Memphis TN.jpg, Memphis, Tennessee hospital, 1884* US-Marine-Hospital-Cairo-Illinois.jpg,

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

hospital, 1886 Former U.S. Marine Hospital Building, 3100 Wyman Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21211 (35640870753).jpg,

hospital, 1887* Evansville Marine Hospital.tiff,

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

hospital, 1892 Adjutant Office Fort Stanton New Mexico.jpg, Tuberculosis sanatorium at

Fort Stanton Fort Stanton was a United States Army fort near Lincoln, New Mexico. Army Fort It was built in 1855 by the 1st Dragoon and the 3rd and 8th Infantry Regiments to serve as a base of military operations against the Mescalero Apaches. Numerous cam ...

, New Mexico, 1898* Wilmington Marine Hospital.jpg, Second

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

hospital, 1898 Ellis Island National Monument ELIS4093.jpg,

Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital The Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital (also known as USPHS Hospital No. 43) was a United States Public Health Service hospital on Ellis Island, in New York Harbor, that operated from 1902 to 1951. The hospital is part of the Statue of Liberty Nati ...

, 1902* Savannah U.S. Marine Hospital 2021a.jpg,

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

hospital, 1906* Pittsburgh U.S. Marine Hospital.jpg, Second Pittsburgh hospital, 1909* Fmr Benedict House, Marine Hospital, UB Chronic Disease Institute - 20200515.jpg,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

hospital, 1909* Pesthouse at KCHC 3

References

External links

* The National Library of Medicine has
guide
to the documents culled from various PHS hospitals when these closed.
marinehospital.org
Website of the U.S. Hospital Foundation, which is restoring the Marine Hospital in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

.
History Of National Institution Of Health
{{authority control Hospital networks in the United States Closed facilities of the United States Coast Guard Hospital service Military medicine in the United States