Board of Health
Board of Health
The Board of Health in Morristown dates back to 1866, fully ten years before the New Jersey State Board of Health was created. It was the authorized keeper of vital statistics, the municipal physician, and health inspector. Over the years the Board’s powers expanded to include disease prevention; isolation and quarantine enforcement; food and drug enforcement; licensing of dogs; regulating living conditions in public housing; protection of water supplies; overseeing waste disposal; and the regulation of burials.
Between 1880 and 1930, Morristown population swelled from 5,400 residents to more than 15,000. The duties and responsibilities of the Board’s small but dedicated staff grew. The 1920s brought new ideas public education regarding overall heath, reducing infant mortality, preventing the spread of contagious disease, and preventing illness. Other organizations involved in public health initiatives includes the Visiting Nurse Association and nurses from the newly created State Bureau of Child Hygiene.
Dr. Anna L. Allaben was Morristown’s first woman physician, and during her career she served as the medical inspector for public schools, testified on insanity pleas in court, and was the first woman Vice-President and President of the Morristown Board of Health.
Anna Allaben graduated from New York Medical College and Hospital for Women in 1894. The following year she moved with her young son to Morristown to open her medical practice specializing in the needs of women and children. In 1923, Mayor Clyde Potts named Dr. Allaben as a member of the Board of Health. In 1924, she rose to Vice-President and, in 1925, she took over as President when Mr. Charles C. Oliver passed. She would hold that title throughout the rest of the 1920s.
Visiting Nurse Association
The Visiting Nurse Association formed in Morristown in 1916 to continue the work of the nursing committee of the Central Bureau of Social Service. They incorporated in 1920 and became a member of the Community Chest in 1922.
The Association provided bedside nursing care to sick individuals of all ages, races, and incomes within the Morristown area. The members soon saw the benefit of preventative care and education. By 1922, the Association operated a comprehensive public health program, which was largely aimed at decreasing maternal and child mortality. Their program included health advice to expectant mothers, attendance at the birth of the baby, home visits for infants, baby welfare stations, and medical exams for pre-school and school-aged children.
The State Bureau of Child Hygiene
Mayor Clyde Potts, who was a member of the State Board of Health, created the Bureau of Child Hygiene and wanted Morristown to be the first town in New Jersey to test the program. In 1922, a couple of nurses from the State Bureau of Child Hygiene came to Morristown, working for the town’s Board of Health. The Child Hygiene nurses were to conduct a baby keep well stations, carry out home visits for new mothers, assist with school nursing and public education, and report cases of suspicious contagion. By 1924, Morristown had four Child Hygiene nurses, two of which were paid for by the State. At the end of the 1920s, all four of the Child Hygiene nurses were on the Town payroll.
