Leona Baumgartner

Who was Leona Baumgartner?

Leona Baumgartner was an American physician. She was the first woman to serve as Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Health. She was a strong advocate of health education and a pioneer in promoting health services among New York’s immigrant and poverty-stricken population.

Leona Baumgartner was born in 1902 to Olga and William Baumgartner. She earned her B.A in Bacteriology and M.A in Immunology at the University of Kansas where her father was a professor of zoology. She was a member of the Kansas Alpha chapter of Pi Beta Phi. Moving onto Yale University, Baumgartner received her Ph.D. in Public Health in 1934 and received her M.D. the same year.

From 1934–1936, she interned in Pediatrics at New York City Hospital. It was during this time, in depression-era New York, that Baumgartner began making home visits in the city’s poorest areas. In 1937, She joined New York’s Department of Health as a medical instructor in Child and School Hygiene. In 1939, Baumgartner was promoted to district health officer, where she managed a number of health services including school health programs, parenting classes and clinics on venereal disease.