The history of public health in Rochester, New York.

Abstract

The untimely death of Dr. Albert D. Kaiser and the numerous tributes recognizing his ten years of unstinted service to the community have stirred a new interest in the history of public health in Rochester. Dr. Kaiser and his predecessors, notably Dr. George W. Goler (first as an assistant in 1892 and as Chief Health Officer from 1896 to 1932), developed an outstanding health department, one that has on these earnest men, and in many instances public lethargy or vested interests effectively blocked the way and left the city at the mercy of known and unknown maladies. Over the years Rochester was not unlike many growing towns in this and other respects, and the awakening of its residents to the need for community-wide precautions, as well as for scientific treatment, comprised an illuminating phase of its history, as the present vigorous programs continue to demonstrate.