Public Health Command Region-North (PHCR-North)
The US Army Public Health Command [USAPHC] lineage can be traced back to the Army Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, more recently known as the U.S. Army Environmental Health Agency (USAEHA), or simply as the Agency. The Agency was formally re-designated as the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) on 01 October 1995. This major organizational change added two new major functions to the Center: Health Promotion and Wellness, and Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance – resulting in increased emphasis on readiness through health. On 01 October 2009, USACHPPM was in turn re-designated as the U.S. Army Public Health Command on a provisional basis. USAPHC is currently undergoing extensive reorganization in regards to this transition.
USAPHC was established in 1942 as the Army Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, located at the School of Hygiene and Public Health of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Operating under the command jurisdiction of the Surgeon General, its principal function was to assist Army industrial activities supporting the war effort by identifying and recommending control measures for health hazards associated with a rapidly expanding military-based manufacturing and maintenance complex. Over the years, the Agency’s mission expanded to encompass health review and oversight of virtually all environmental and occupational health programs. In April 1973, USAEHA became a part of the U.S. Army Health Services Command [now known as the Medical Command (MEDCOM)]. Six Area Medical Laboratories (AMLs) were also a part of Health Services Command. These previously had been assigned to the Continental Army Command Armies, with part of their mission being preventive medicine support within their respective Army areas. With the deactivation of the AMLs in October 1974, the Environmental Health and Entomological Sciences resources of the AMLs were consolidated to create three Regional Divisions (RDs) under the command and control of USAEHA.
The RD-North, located at Fort George G. Meade , Maryland, included the Environmental Health and Entomological Sciences assets of the 1st and 2nd AMLs, whereas the assets from the 3rd and 4th AMLs and the 5th and 6th AMLs formed the nuclei of RD-South at Ft. McPherson, Georgia, and RD-West at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado, respectively. In August 1985, the three RDs were named as the Field Support Activities of the Agency and were designated as Battalion-Level Scientific and Technical Commands with their own Unit Identification Codes (UICs). In 1987, the Field Support Activities were re-designated as the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Activities – North, South, and West.
In 1995, the three Regional Activities of USAEHA were re-designated as Direct Support Activities (DSAs) of USACHPPM. On 01 October 2009, the DSAs were further re-designated to mirror the ongoing transition to a Public Health Command and became Public Health Command Regions (PHCRs) – North, South, and West. The MEDCOM Commander has directed the creation of the U.S. Army Public Health Command (USAPHC). This decision was made to enhance the ability to deliver public health services to the Army. The USAPHC within the MEDCOM will serve as a single point of responsibility and be accountable for the restoration, improvement, and sustainment of the health of the Army including its Soldiers, their Families, DA Civilian employees, and military retirees.
PHCR-North has the mission of providing regionally focused direct preventive medicine and health promotion support to America’s Army in a 20 state area of responsibility, stretching from Maine to North Carolina, and as far west as Wisconsin. The professionals at PHCR-North provide on-site and telephonic technical support services in the areas of potable water and wastewater, solid and hazardous waste, regulated medical waste, pest management, arthropod surveillance, industrial hygiene, environmental compliance assessments, risk communication, field preventive medicine readiness assistance training, and world-wide deployment support.