When the US military recaptured Guam from Japanese forces in July to August 1944, temporary field hospitals were established in secured areas of the Hågat and Anigua beachheads. Both civilian and military wards were later moved to a complex of metal buildings in the village of Tamuning.
At the end of World War II, in August 1945, a three-year nursing program was re-established in Guam by the US Navy. It was called the US Naval Hospital School for Native Nurses and then renamed the US Naval Hospital School of Nursing in 1946.
Nursing Schools: 1945-1952 Read Post »
No official records of health activities during the Japanese occupation are known to have survived World War II. Although health services were offered free-of-charge to civilians who came to the hospital, many were reluctant to do so except in dire emergency.
Health Services During WWII Read Post »
The first US Naval Hospital in Guam was established in Hagåtña in August 1899 by Surgeon Philip Leach. Since many Chamorros at the time consulted with suruhånu/suruhånas (traditional healers) for medical concerns, the hospital was the only source of modern western medicine on the island.
US Naval Hospital 1899-1941 Read Post »
Because of a shortage of personnel Navy Medical Officers began teaching local women to be health care workers. The first class offered, in 1901, was in midwifery (local women delivered 325 babies that year) beginning a long tradition of the staff of the Naval Hospital teaching local people to be health care providers using Western medical practices.
From 1899 to 1941 US Marines given the title “Insular Patrolman” were selected to live in Guam’s villages and maintain order. Among their many duties was to enforce the island’s sanitary and public health regulations as dictated by the US Navy administration.
Leprosy – Insular Patrol Read Post »
In the first decade of the 20th century, the US Navy embarked on a policy of forcibly segregating Chamorros suspected of having Hansen’s disease (leprosy) from the rest of Guam’s population, and sending them to live in leper colonies such as the one established at Ypao, Tumon or as far away as on the island of Culion in the Philippines.
Leprosy – Local Reaction Read Post »
Spanish built first leprosarium. As early as the 1600s, Western explorers documented seeing Chamorros of the Mariana Islands afflicted with apparent Hansen’s disease, or leprosy. Still, it wasn’t until hundreds of years later that a government-sanctioned policy of seclusion and confinement of Hansen’s patients gained a foothold in Guam.
Leprosy – Hospitals and Colonies Read Post »
The first medical facilities and dispensaries of the US Naval Era (1898 – 1941) were established shortly after the Spanish American War in 1898, recorded as early as 1899. In this first year, Naval officials estimated that 1,141 indigenous CHamorus received medical care. Since roads remained under developed and hazardous, the Navy also provided a portable clinic that traveled to and from different points around the island.
The stories of Guam’s pattera, or nurse-midwives, and their history give insight into their personal legacy and professional contribution to the healthcare of women, children, and families in Guam.
Guam Pattera Interviews Read Post »
