| Agency Name: | Boston Public Health Commission |
| Formed: | 1799 as the Boston Board of Health; 1995 as the Boston Public Health Commission |
| Jurisdiction: | Boston |
| Headquarters: | 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02118 |
| Chief1 Name: | Bisola Ojikutu, MD, MPH, FIDSA |
| Chief1 Position: | Executive Director |
| Parent Agency: | City of Boston |
The Boston Public Health Commission, the oldest health department in the United States, is an independent public agency providing a wide range of health services and programs. It is governed by a seven-member board of health appointed by the Mayor of Boston. Its mission is to "protect, preserve, and promote the health and well-being of all Boston residents, particularly those who are most vulnerable."[1] The commission is headquartered at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston.[2]
In 1799, The Boston Board of Health was established to combat any potential cholera outbreaks. Paul Revere was Boston's first health commissioner.[3] [4]
In 1864 the Boston City Hospital opened, managed by the board.[4]
The Boston Public Health Act of 1995 caused the organization of the current commission.[1] In 1996, the modern Boston Public Health Commission opened after the Boston City Hospital (founded 1864) and Boston University Hospital (founded 1855) were merged into the Boston Medical Center.[4] This was the first full merger in the United States of a public hospital with a private academic medical center and its hospital.
In 2008, the BPHC banned the sale of "blunt wraps," tobacco-leaf papers that are used to make marijuana cigarettes, in Boston. In April 2009 a Massachusetts judge upheld the ban.[5]