History of Public Health Nursing in Missouri Public health
nursing in the United States began in the late 1800’s through
the efforts of a few wealthy women in New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, and Buffalo, who hired trained nurses to care for
the poor in their homes. In 1880, New York City established a
Division of Child Hygiene in the New York Health Department.
This Division demonstrated that public health nurses could
reduce infant mortality through home visiting and teaching. In
1898, Los Angeles became the first city to officially employ a
nurse to care for the sick in their homes. By 1910, many of the
urban visiting nurses had initiated preventive programs for
school children, infants, mothers, and patients with
tuberculosis. In March 1883, a State Board of Health was created
in Missouri. Its purpose was to protect citizens against the
dreaded diseases of smallpox, typhoid, cholera and other
communicable diseases. Public health nursing began in Missouri
in 1891 when the Ladies Society of Kansas City’s Fir