Bureau of Medical Services

BMS was abolished at the beginning of 1967 in the first of four major reorganizations of PHS. Most of BMS's divisions joined with the Bureau of State Services' Community Health divisions to form the Bureau of Health Services in 1967, and then became part of the Health Services and Mental Health Administration (HSMHA) in 1968. The Division of Hospitals became the Federal Health Programs Service, the Division of Indian Health became the Indian Health Service, and the Division of Hospital and Medical Facilities became the Health Facilities Planning and Construction Service.[8][13] The Division of Foreign Quarantine, however, was taken over by the Communicable Disease Center in 1967.[14][15]

HSMHA was broken up in 1973. The Federal Health Programs Service became a new Bureau of Medical Services within the Health Services Administration (HSA), and the Indian Health Service was also moved into HSA. The Health Facilities Planning and Construction Service merged with the Community Health Service (which had come from the Bureau of State Services) to form the Bureau of Health Resources Development within the Health Resources Administration.[13][16] The Indian Health Service would later be promoted to operating agency status in 1988.[17]

A 1980 pamphlet about the Bureau of Medical Services within the Health Services Administration

The second incarnation of the Bureau of Medical Services was strictly the successor of the old Division of Hospitals rather than the entire old bureau, as the other divisions were placed elsewhere in PHS.[13][16]

In 1970, there were eight general hospitals in the system, with hospitals in Savannah and Detroit having closed in the previous two years, and prior to that in Memphis and Chicago.[18] In 1980, BMS ran eight general hospitals in Boston, Staten Island, Baltimore, Norfolk, New Orleans, Nassau Bay, San Francisco, and Seattle, plus 28 outpatient clinics and the National Leprosarium. It also included separate divisions for Coast Guard medical services, federal employee occupational health, and emergency medical services.[19]

The PHS hospital system had been the target of efforts to close the entire system since the mid-1970s, but these efforts were hampered by a federal law that required the system to be funded to at least the 1973 level,[20] and the opposition of Senator Warren Magnuson, who retired in 1980.[21] This law was repealed in 1981 as the result of pressure from the Reagan administration.[20] This forced the end of PHS hospital system by the end of 1981, with the last eight hospitals transferred to other organizations.[20][22]

The Reagan Administration's intention was to completely close the hospitals that were in poorer condition, but this faced opposition from local groups concerned about decreases in hospital capacity. The administrator of the Seattle Hospital even refused to stop admitting patients even after being specifically directed to do so by authorities in Washington, leading to a confrontation between him and eight federal inspectors.[21] The opposition led to Congress approving additional funds to improve the hospitals to state and local standards, so they could continue to be operated by other agencies or organizations.[21] Ultimately, five hospitals were transferred to non-governmental entities, two to the Department of Defense, and one to the State of Louisiana.[20][22] PHS would however continue to operate the National Leprosarium until 1999.[23]

In 1982, the Health Services Administration merged with the Health Resources Administration to form the Health Resources and Services Administration.[24] As part of the merge, the Bureau of Medical Services merged with the Bureau of Community Health Services to form the Bureau of Health Care Delivery and Assistance,[25] which was renamed the Bureau of Primary Health Care in 1992.[24] The Division of Federal Occupational Health remained in the merged bureau,[26] but by 2003, it had been transferred to the Program Support Center, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration.[27][28]

Boston PHS Hospital

Baltimore PHS Hospital

New Orleans PHS Hospital

Detroit PHS Hospital

Chicago PHS Hospital

This is a list of Public Health Service hospitals active after 1943. For a hospitals that ceased operating prior to 1943, see Marine Hospital Service Hospitals. The links are to the hospital rather than the city. They are grouped by the date that they were closed, transferred to another organization, or downgraded to a clinic.

• 1999:[29]
  • Carville, Louisiana (National Leprosarium)
• 1981:[19]
  • Boston
  • Staten Island
  • Baltimore
  • Norfolk
  • New Orleans
  • Nassau Bay, Texas
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle

• 1965–1970:[11][18][22]
  • Savannah
  • Detroit
  • Memphis
  • Chicago
  • Galveston
  • Washington, D.C. (St. Elizabeths Hospital)[30]
  • Lexington (psychiatric hospital)
  • Fort Worth (psychiatric hospital)
• 1944–1953:[22]
  • Washington, D.C. (Freedmen's Hospital)
  • Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York
  • Cleveland
  • Fort Stanton, New Mexico
  • Kirkwood, Missouri
  • Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
  • Mobile, Alabama
  • Portland, Maine
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
  • Neponsit, New York
  • Buffalo
  • Pittsburgh
  • Evansville, Indiana
  • Louisville

R. C. Williams was the first Chief of the Bureau of Medical Services

The Chief of the Bureau of Medical Services was one of the positions holding the title of Assistant Surgeon General. This list only contains chiefs of the original, operating-agency-level BMS.

• Ralph C. Williams (1943–1951)[31]
• Jack Masur (1951–1956)[31][32]
• John W. Cronin (1956–1958)[32][33]
• James V. Lowry (1958–1964)[33][34]
• Leo J. Gehrig (1964–1965)[34][35]
• Carruth J. Wagner (1965–1966)[36][37]