Charles Value Chapin

Fifty years after his death, Charles Value Chapin is still remembered well in the city of Providence, Rhode Island. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he served as the Superintendent of Health for the City, founded the "nation's first contagious disease hospital", and was dedicated to the improving the health and well being of the citizens of Providence (www.health.state.ri.us/yhd04.htm). He was inducted as an honorary member into the Delta Omega Honorary Public Health Society in 1927.

Charles Value Chapin was a graduate of Brown University (1876), Columbia P&S, and Bellevue Hospital Medical College. In 1884 he became the Superintendent of Health for the City of Providence. He served in this capacity for 48 years! As the superintendent of health, Chapin observed a link between sanitation and the outbreak of diseases. He worked to improve the sanitation and sewer systems of the city. He is also noted for "identifying the source of a cholera outbreak in 1888" (www.health.state.ri.us/yhd04.htm). Chapin developed a system for mandatory reporting of contagious diseases. His dedication to controlling contagious diseases led to the development of the Providence City Hospital in 1910, designed specifically for individuals with contagious diseases. The hospital was later renamed the Chapin Hospital. Chapin died in 1941.