Columns & Opinions

The early twentieth century was a major turning point for medicine. New treatments and new vaccines were becoming available. New understandings of how disease spread and how the human body worked were being uncovered. And it was starting to become easier to spread this information to the general public how they could better take care of themselves and prevent illness. This time period also saw two of the greatest public health crises of the century: the millions of wounded of World War I and the Spanish Flu Epidemic. Dr. Rupert Blue, the Surgeon General at the time, would lead the effort to preserve the health of the public with these great tests.