Naval Hospital Pensacola is one of the oldest medical facilities in the United States of America, with over 175 years of continuous history. The hospital is almost as old as the state it is located in – Florida. These days, the facility is one of the most modern military installations and one of the traditional ones with the highest reputation. The hospital history and beginnings are highly connected with the president of those times – John Quincy Adams. He is responsible for assigning a professional to find a good spot for a clinic, as well as setting up the first surgeon on site.
The funds for the hospital were authorized in 1811. However, the actual money were given out in 1834 due to constant delays and a bureaucratic system. The construction began at the initiative of a Navy doctor, who rented a house with two floors. He used to pay $30 on a monthly basis. He established his little office in it. The costs of the actual construction raised to $12,000. It was not such a huge amount of money. The facility was located in the immediate proximity of a Navy military base. Since it was not inside the base boundaries, the authorities raised a new brick wall to protect the patients. Back then, the malaria and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes were very popular. Most experts believed these species could not fly higher than 2.5 meters, therefore the size of the wall was a little over that value.
In the modern age, Naval Hospital Pensacola is more than just a medical center. It also hosts one of the most respected schools for the medical aspirants. The students get there to study for their degrees and accreditation in family medicine. This tradition goes on for more than three decades already. The past years brought in a new unit that includes almost a thousand troops – Fleet Hospital Pensacola. The fleet hospital is deployed on site, although most of its missions are outside of the United States of America. It is a mobile unit that is mostly involved in humanitarian actions. In 2003, the hospital was picked as the most important and prolific hospital in the United States of America, among both civilian and military institutions.
The primary mission of Naval Hospital Pensacola is to support the nearby settlement Pensacola Air Station. The hospital is open to both the civilian families, contractors or workers and military personnel. At the same time, it also supports all the reserve or retired troops living in the area. The hospital has the capacity to deal with more than 100 patients at the same time, plus a few extra facilities out of it.
Naval Hospital Pensacola mostly concentrates on general medicine, but it can support an impressive array of operations and fields, including surgical operations too. Other than that, there are about 2,000 medical specialists employed on site, not to mention about the few hundred volunteers who join in to help and learn. It is a great opportunity for those who prepare to become professional doctors.