Medical

The Heart Mountain hospital opened on August 28, 1942. Before that, the sick were cared for at one of the recreation halls. In its three years, the hospital admitted almost 5,500 sick, performed almost 400 surgeries, and delivered 550 babies. The hospital had a staff of about 150. Doctors and dentists were recruited from among those confined at Heart Mountain to help tend to those who were ill. However, they were supervised by a Caucasian Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nurse. Tensions between the WRA management and Japanese American staff often ran high. In 1943 staff members walked off their jobs twice, protesting working conditions and pay. Japanese American doctors were paid $19 per month, while Caucasian nurses working at the camp’s hospital were paid $150 per month.

See the full image (PDF) of "First Hospital Equipped With Benches, Cots" from the Heart Mountain Sentinel August 12, 1944 special edition, in Wyoming Newspapers.