The records of the University Health Service (UHS) date from 1912 to 1998, but primarily document the period 1970-1998. The records reflect the programming and educational activities of the UHS, its changes in both physical and organizational structure and its evolution from a tiny student-service provider of emergency care to a multi-department health care facility serving students and university employees in a number of emergency and preventative, and health maintenance capacities.
The UHS collection is divided into nine series: Historical, Memoranda, Programming, Proposals, Publications, Reports, Surveys, Topical, and Visual Materials.
A campus health service was established in 1912, in response to requests by faculty and students for a student infirmary similar to those already in existence at several other American universities. The University Health Service officially opened its doors in 1913 in a converted residence on the current site of Burton Memorial Tower. The facility was staffed by two physicians (one male and one female), a nurse, and a clerk who responded to the health needs of over 5,500 students. Initially the Health Service provided only ambulatory care with more seriously ill patients receiving in-room house calls or referrals to the University Hospital. In 1921, the Health Service became a unit of the new Division of Hygiene and Public Health and was relocated to the Children's Annex of the former Homeopathic Hospital. The new location offered 20 inpatient beds, as well as space for offices, x-ray, laboratory, and pharmacy services.
Throughout the 1920s the Health Service was expanded to include new services, departments and clinics. Dentistry and surgery services were added in 1923, and a physiotherapy department was opened the following year. Mental hygiene services began in 1927 with a part-time social worker and volunteer psychiatrist. In 1928, the ear, nose and throat, dermatology, and allergy clinics were added to the growing specialized services. A dietitian joined the staff in 1933, bringing the Health Service staff total to nearly 50 members.
In 1939 the current University Health Service building on Fletcher Street was constructed. The new building, occupied in 1940, was specifically designed to meet the particular needs of the Health Service, including 65 inpatient beds. A decade later, the staff of the UHS had grown to approximately 140 employees.
An immunization clinic was established in 1969, and in 1971 the Gynecology/Contraception Clinic was separated from the main medical clinic to meet the health needs of women students.
The 1970s and 1980s saw a move away from inpatient activity toward providing public health information on campus. Ambulatory care continued to increase, but lack of patients forced the closure of the infirmary in 1983. The latter half of the 1980s saw continuing growth of public information programs, including use of the campus computing network. One such program is the Peer Health Aide program, which trains peer educators to deliver programs on substance abuse, nutrition, contraception, and safe sex.
More information can be found at the official UHS Web Site: http://www.uhs.umich.edu
Directors of the University Health Service
| Date |
Event |
| 1913-1917 | Howard H. Cummings |
| 1917-1955 | Warren E. Forsythe |
| 1955-1967 | Morley B. Beckett |
| 1968-1980 | Robert E. Anderson |
| 1981-1999 | Caesar Briefer |
| 1999- | Robert A. Winfield |
Executive Director of the University Health Service
| Date |
Event |
| 2014-2016 | Robert A. Winfield |
| 2016-2018 | Howard Saulles (interim) |
| 2018- | Robert D. Ernst |
