UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND/ Division of Vital Records

Nonprofit Category: P - Human Services

Exempt Status: Government or Military

Maryland’s health care delivery system consists of public and private hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, home health care services, hospices, providers, and health educators, among others. As a public health department, our goal is to improve the health status of every Maryland resident and to ensure access to quality health care. We are responsible for helping each person live a life free from the threat of communicable diseases, tainted foods, and dangerous products. To assist in our mission, we regulate health care providers, facilities, and organizations, and manage direct services to patients, where appropriate.

 

 

Although public health activities such as registration of births, deaths, and marriages began in Maryland in the mid-1600s, the formal public health effort did not begin until 1797 when Baltimore Town was incorporated into Baltimore City. At that time, health ordinances were passed and, by the early 1800s, smallpox vaccinations were available to the poor, free of charge.