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Individualized Patient Care 1940-1970

By the mid-twentieth century, Salt Lake County was undeniably a healthier and safer place to live because of the health department. Since the health department started tracking vital statistics - meaning all births, deaths, and causes of death – we have exact data on just how much better living conditions were by the mid century. The 1946 annual report, for example, showed that the overall death rate went from 12.52 in 1937 to 9.55 by 1946. Because of health department nurse home visits and education programs, the maternal mortality similarly went from 6.03 to 1.05 over the course of ten years, and the infant mortality rate was practically halved.

One major victory for children in Salt Lake County came in 1954 when health department nurses administered 6,564 polio immunizations for the first time as part of a national field trial. The polio vaccine was revolutionary, saving hundreds of children from a lifetime of living with physical disability. 

Despite the health department’s clear victories in public health, changes in the federal government and growing concerns about publicly-funded healthcare led to massive changes in the health department, including the closure of the County General Hospital in 1965. 

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Vital Statistics from Health Department Annual Report

Did you know? Between 1950 and 1960, the population of Salt Lake County doubled!

Federalization of Health Care

After the war years expanded the federal government, many public health initiatives came under new management instead of being done at the county level. For example, in 1945 the Federal Works Agency built a public health center on 200 E Westminster Ave to manage exclusively psychiatric and venereal disease patients. The creation of the social security program in 1935 also meant that elderly people had access to federal welfare, so the county proposed closing its infirmary in 1937.

By the 1960s, important health agencies like the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Medicare, and Medicaid were part of American life. The 1966 Partnership in Health Act gave block grants to county and state-level health departments, shifting the county health department’s organization. To consolidate spending and respond to this new national order, the Salt Lake City and County health departments finally combined into one health department in 1969, after first being considered decades before in 1943. 

A man addressing a group of people.

Medical Students at the County Hospital, 1960

The County Hospital closed in 1965 with the completion of the University of Utah medical center. (Image courtesy of the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah.)

Cultural Changes in Healthcare

New federal funding opportunities, paired with concerns about taxes, gradually led to the closure of the County General Hospital in 1965. In 1949, a non-partisan public funds report found that between 1940 and 1949, the per-patient daily expenditures at the hospital quadrupled. Part of this was due to nation-wide rising healthcare costs, but it was also explained by the County General Hospital’s role as a medical school. Because it was the training site of nurses and doctors, the County General had more resources and administered more specialized care. In 1964, the hospital closed after the University of Utah built their own hospital to train medical students. The building was used as county offices until it was torn down in 1985-86.

This period also signaled a change in how individuals connected with healthcare systems overall. Federal programs under Lyndon B. Johnson’s movement for a “Great Society” echoed the sentiments of the City Beautiful movement by cracking down on poverty and encouraging urban renewal. Under these systems, neighborhood clinics and family practices opened up, granting individuals one-on-one relationships with a doctor they saw regularly. This was part of the “Primary Health Care Movement,” which emphasized health as a matter of individual integration into a market-driven healthcare system. This made patient’s relationships with their doctor more individual and personalized. In 1969, the American Board of Medical Specialties even approved Family Health as a practice. As a result, the county provided less one-on-one patient care through home visits and instead focused on community health overall. 

This was just the beginning of the county health department’s important role in our community today. Inspectors, scientists, and public health officials are still working to keep Salt Lake County clean, safe, and disease-free today just as they have since 1852. 

A woman looking at a man in a hospital bed.

Radiologist With Patient

By the 1970s, people regularly went to a primary care physician who they saw through their whole life. (Image courtesy of the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah.)

Sources

  • All photos courtesy of the Salt Lake County Archives unless otherwise noted.
  • "Abolishment of Infirmary, Shakeup Goal," Salt Lake Telegram, January 23, 1937.
  • "S. L. Health Costs Pose Problem," Salt Lake Telegram, June 19, 1947.
  • "Combined City, County Health Unit Merits Diligent Study," Salt Lake Telegram, June 27, 1947.
  • Health, Welfare, and Charity Correspondence 1941-1951. Salt Lake County Archives.
  • "Research Report: The Salt Lake County Hospital, Report No. 63," Utah Foundation.
  • Board of Health Annual Reports, 1955. Salt Lake County Archives.
  • Institute of Medicine. 1988. The Future of Public Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press
  • "Our History: Timeline," University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, accessed July 23 2025 .