In July 1966, the Duke University School of Medicine established a new department: the Department of Community Health Sciences. Its roots were multiple and complex, and began with a decision to discontinue another department — the Department of Preventive Medicine — which had functioned since the first days of the medical school.
The Department of Community Health Sciences (renamed Community and Family Medicine in 1979, and Family Medicine and Community Health in 2019) has long been described as a “catch all,” a department that took in divisions and programs that didn’t belong anywhere else in the medical center.
In-Depth Stories About the Department's History
- Origins of the Department, published July 1, 2016
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Division of Community Health: A focus on the underserved populations of the Durham community, published July 21, 2016
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Family Medicine at Duke: A Seven-Part Series, published July 27-Aug. 17, 2016
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Leonard Goldwater's vision: A history of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, published July 14, 2016
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Duke Physician Assistant Program: The birthplace of the physician assistant profession, published July 1, 2016