Baker, Sara Josephine

Baker, Sara Josephine

(born Nov. 15, 1873, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., U.S.—died Feb. 22, 1945, New York, N.Y.) U.S. physician. She became the first American woman to receive a doctorate in public health. As the first director of New York City's Division of Child Hygiene (the first public agency devoted to child health), she helped make New York's infant-mortality rates the lowest of any major American city. She helped found the American Child Hygiene Association and organized what became the Children's Welfare Federation of New York. She published five books on child hygiene.

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Baker, Sara Josephine (1873–1945) physician, public health administrator; born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Her efforts led to greatly reduced levels of infant mortality in New York City before World War II and the creation of agencies to foster child health care. A suffragette, she lectured widely on public health (1916–31) and was the author of numerous books and articles.