Leona Baumgartner, MD — public health (government)
Courtesy National Library of Medicine, Images from the History of Medicine
From 1954 to 1962, Dr. Leona Baumgartner (1902–1991) served as the first woman commissioner of New York City’s Department of Health. She used her position to bring no-nonsense health and hygiene advice to millions of Americans via regular television and radio broadcasts, and by sending health care professionals to visit schools and church groups. Throughout her career, she broadened the scope of public health by teaching preventive medicine in easy-to-understand brochures, and helped to improve the health of New York’s poorest and most vulnerable.
Read more about Dr. Leona Baumgartner.
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