Evening star., 1934-08-30
The Next Health Officer.


DR.. William C. Fowler. District
Health Officer. reaches the retirement
age in November and there is already
speculation as to his successor. The
usual rumors regarding intense inter-
est of the President in this vacancy
have been going the rounds. They
were pretty well disposed Of in yes
terday's dispatch from Mr.. Young,
The Stars correspondent with the
President, which stated that the
President had not been informed of
the pending vacancy, which it is the
duty of the Commissioners to fill.
For many reasons it is to be hoped
that the Commissioners will give more
than ordinary thought to the choice
of a successor to DR.. Fowler. The
suggestion, originating with the medi-
cal society, has been tentatively made
that the District might call on the
United States Public Health Service
for assignment Of a health officer to
the District.
The suggestion, viewed against the
proper background, is good one. Dur
ing the past twenty-five years public
health work has attained the impor-
tance of a profession-or a distinct
branch of the medical profession-in
itself. Harvard and Johns Hopkins
Universities award the degree of
Doctor of Public Health" rs well as
Doctor of Medicine While the prac-
tice of appointing physicians to head
State and city departments of pub
lie health is of long standing and
In many cases is still followed, there is
general recognition of the fact that
the modern practice of public health
requires a specialized body of knowl-
edge which does not enter into the
training Of the ordinary physician.
The doctor of public health is con-
cerned with the health of a COM
munity rather than the health of in
dividuals. There are, here, two dis
tinct fields of medical practice.
Assignment of United States Public
Health Service experts as city and
State health officers-at the request
of the local authorities-has become
a recognized practice. DR.. George B.
Young was detailed as commissioner
of health of Chicago as long ago as
1911, and during the four years he
remained on the assignment COM
pletely reorganized the city's health
department. There have been many
notable instances since. DR.. Thomas
Parren, jr., was assigned to the re-
organization of the New York State
health department in 1880, at the re-
quest of Governor Roosevelt, and
he is still on that assignment. DR..
Warren F. Draper, the former assist
ant surgeon general, is now State
health officer of Virginia. Mayor La
Guardia Of New York requested and
obtained the services of public health
officer, Dr. Robert Oleson, to be as
sistant health commissioner of New
York City.
While on such assignments, the
public health officers retain their COM
missions in the Public Health Service
and draw their salaries from the
United States Government, with ad-
ditional compensation available in the
discretion of the local authorities. The
length of such assignments is at the
pleasure Of the local authorities. The
health officers so assigned are re-
sponSible solely to the local authori-
ties.
1t might be a wise thing for the
Commissioners to obtain the services
Of a public health officer in a
thoroughgoing reorganization of the
local Health Department after DR..
Fowler's retirement. The choice of
a permanent health officer, which
should be narrowed to the field of ex-
ceptionally we'll qualified candidates,
could be delayed, if necessary, until
later.