Supporting the vital role of the U.S. Public Health Service

For over 130 years, health care professionals have been called upon as patriots caring for our nation’s wounded military. First purposed by President John Adams to provide “relief and maintenance of sick or disabled seamen,” what is now the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) has taken on far expanded roles and responsibilities in our society. For example, following Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, PHS health care professionals established field hospitals and pharmacies, supported local health care efforts, and provided access to clean water, vital vaccines, and much more.

In fact, they’ve done this following floods, fires, and disasters of every kind, including following 9/11. PHS officers support border security and immigration; they provide scientific review and leadership for drug and device approvals within FDA; they mitigate outbreaks, such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, keeping what could have been thousands of cases of the infection controlled and away from the United States; they provide primary care for our Native American populations through the Indian Health Services, and comprehensive health care services through the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Bureau of Prisons; they ensure public health infrastructure and policy is in place through work in CDC and other agencies that are being condensed into the new Agency for a Healthy America.

All of this is done largely out of the limelight and behind the scenes, without fanfare or even much gratitude from our nation. In 2023, a documentary called Invisible Corps was released by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) which details these unsung heroes. It’s worth watching.

Pharmacists are the largest group of professionals serving within the PHS. Hundreds of our colleagues dedicate themselves in selfless sacrifice to our nation through PHS. And like many things in our society these days, they are under attack. Because they do their work behind the scenes, the value these professionals provide are not readily understood by many politicians.

PHS is a vital uniformed service of the United States—just as critical to our national security and safety as the U.S. Armed Forces. They should be on equal footing with the other uniformed services, budgeted for and supported just as much as we support our defense forces.

APhA stands strongly with PHS and particularly the pharmacists and pharmacy personnel enlisted therein. To reduce the size of the Commissioned Corp in any way is to undermine our nation’s health infrastructure. We will strongly oppose any effort to do so.

For every pharmacist. For all of pharmacy.

Reference: Mullan F. Plagues and Politics: The Story of the United States Public Health Service. New York, NY: Basic Books; 1989.