Municipal health department practice for the year 1923 : based upon surveys of the 100 largest cities in the United States / made by the United States Public Health Service in cooperation with the Committee on Administrative Practice, American Public Health Association.

  • United States Public Health Service
Date:
1926
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Municipal health department practice for the year 1923 : based upon surveys of the 100 largest cities in the United States / made by the United States Public Health Service in cooperation with the Committee on Administrative Practice, American Public Health Association. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    49/812 page 25
    TABLE X.—EHfficiency items of office administration, 1923—General tone (97 cities) —Time records (100 cities)—Library facilities (100 cities)—Classified according to whole or part time service of health officer—Continued Time record kept | Library Yes No Total Yes No Total Num-|} Per |Num-| Per |Num-| Per |Num-| Per |Num-| Per |Num-| Per ber | cent | ber | cent | ber | cent | ber | cent | ber | cent | ber | cent Cities with whole-time health officer........-..- 50 | 79.4 13 | 20.6 63 | 100.0 32 | 50.8 31 | 49.2 63 | 100.0 Cities with part-time health officer........--.. 11 | 29.7 26 | 70.3 37 | 100.0 10 | 27.0 27 | 73.0 37 | 100.0 All cities]. 22222 61 | 61.0 39 | 39.0 | 100] 100.0 42 | 42.0 58 | 58.0}; 100 100.0 SUMMARY Health service in the 100 largest American municipalities is ren- dered by units of government whose functions are rather strictly limited to directly preventive measures. The health department is normally a major department of government, but in about one-fourth of the large cities it is a bureau or division in some other major department, usually that of public safety or public welfare. There is an appointive board of health in 48 cities and an ex officio, and more or less nominal, organization designated as a board of health in 18 cities. Thirty-two cities have no board of health, and 7 have a board with purely advisory power. The powers of appointment and removal of employees, Cae the health officer, of fixing salaries, making rules and regulations, issuing orders and hearing appeals are variously distributed accord- ing to the form of general municipal administration and the type of health organization. The health departments studied conform in general to a seven- divisional type of administrative organization, tending toward a further subdivision in larger cities and to a combination of divisions in smaller cities. The qualifications prescribed for appointment as health officer specify for the most part only that the health officer be a physician. The health officer is appointed by the board of health in about one- fourth of the cities, by the mayor in about one-third, by some other municipal officer in one-fifth, and is elected by the council or com- mission in about one-fourth of the cities in the groups under con- sideration. About one-half of the cities ny a definite term of office for the health officer.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3