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A Short History
Florida has a long and
varied history, evidenced by the fact that five flags
have flown over it. The United States purchased it from
Spain in 1819, and it became a State in 1845. Forty-four
years later in 1889, the Florida State Board of Health
was established.
The State Board of Health
was established to create a central organization to
control disease, pollution, and channel funds from the
federal government to County Health Departments. Taylor
County was the first to organize a county health unit in
1930, followed by Leon in 1931, and Escambia County in
1932. Since inception, both Leon and Escambia have
continued the provision of service without interruption.
Taylor County did not provide service from 1933 to 1935.
Prior to the State Board
of Health, each county had Boards of Health created out
of fear of communicable diseases. However, these Boards
were run by people with little medical knowledge -
usually county commissioners. The first form of public
health activity began in Leon County as early as 1889
working with quarantine agents in the control of Yellow
Fever.
The Leon County Health
Department was opened January 1931, housed in three
rooms over a shoe store at Monroe and Jefferson streets,
with six employees. Dr. L.J. Graves, served as the first
health officer, and the first health department staff
consisted of two nurses and three sanitarians. They
occupied at least two other locations downtown near the
courthouse and Capitol until moving to the corner of
Gadsden and Gaines streets in July 1940.
The Health Department’s
emphasis during those early years was “prevention of
disease and the prolongation of physical and mental
efficiency through organized community effort”. The
department functioned with three divisions: Clinics and
Nursing, Sanitation, and Mental Health.
In 1966, a new facility
was built and the Health Department moved to its present
location on the corner of Municipal Way and Appleyard
Drive. Today, as we continue our Mission to “Prevent
Disease, Promote Health,” four satellite units (Roberts
and Stevens, Environmental Health, Dental and Southside)
and a Mobile Health Unit make up the full compliment of
The Leon County Health Department. The health
department currently functions with one Administrator
and one hundred, seventy-two staff. The department is
divided into ten divisions: Administration/Business,
WIC/Nutrition, Dental, Environmental Health, Nursing,
Social Services, Communicable Disease, Health Education,
Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Public Health
Preparedness.
Today, Leon County
residents enjoy better health, live in healthier
conditions, are more informed about means of taking care
of their health, and live longer than at any time in its
history. To a large extent, these trends can be
attributed to the efforts and activities of public
health in this community. Isn’t it awesome to be part of
an organization with such a rich history?
References:
Millstones and
Milestones, Florida's Public from 1889, Albert V. Hardy,
M.D., Dr. P.H., and May Pynchon, Florida State Board of
Health Monograph Series No. 7, Jacksonville, Florida,
1964.
Florida Health Notes,
Partnership in Health, Vol. 61 - No. 3, March 1969.
Tallahassee Democrat,
Section D, Sunday, April 17, 1966.
Copyright © 2002
Leon County Health Department. All rights reserved. |
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