Public Health Services History

According to the San Diego History Center website, San Diego’s Board of Health was first established by the Common Council of the City of San Diego in 1850, under authority of the first City Charter. There is no record of regular meetings of that board.

The Board of Trustees again established a Board of Health in 1869, in an attempt "to prevent the spread of smallpox and other contagious diseases in the City of San Diego." It does not appear that this Board remained active, and there is no record of its reappearance until the San Diego Union carried news of the "first regular meeting" of the Board of Health on June 12, 1876, when it was created by a charter ordinance. The "unhealthy condition of the water that was being delivered to the citizens of this city by the San Diego Water Company" was the first public health issue to be discussed by this new Board of Health. At that time, the City Board consisted of the City Trustees and an appointed Health Officer.

One major health issue, the Spanish flu, spread to San Diego in 1918. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, there were 4,392 cases reported out of a population of about 70,000. Over 300 people died. Mandatory flu masks were given to high school schools. The Board of Health urged the public to “keep out of crowds.”

According to the Online Archive of California, in the early 1920’s, the City formed a Health Department. A County Department of Public Health was organized in 1933. In 1953, the City and County departments were consolidated into one, and as such, it has remained. Now the County Health Department, Public Health Services, is a department of the Health and Human Services Agency, which was formed in 1998.

The Health Services Complex (HSC), located at 3851 Rosecrans Street, was initially constructed in the 1960s and repurposed as the HSC in 1985, and housed the majority of Public Health Services' programs and services. In the 1990s, it was retrofitted to include the Public Health Laboratory, which in 2006, was upgraded to a Biosafety Lab Level 3 (BSL-3).

Recognizing the outdated Rosecrans facility, the Board of Supervisors took action to secure a superior replacement, securing funding in July 2022 and approval to build in October 2022. In May 2025, the two-story, 52,000 square-foot building opened on the County Administration Center (COC) campus at 5540 Overland Ave. This new lab is able to accommodate approximately 200 employees and contractors, exceeding the 19,000 square-foot Rosecrans lab. With state-of-the-art capabilities, including a Whole Genome Sequencing Laboratory and wastewater surveillance for tracking COVID-19 and other viruses, the facility emphasizes the County's commitment to excellence, workforce, and community. Additionally, the Public Health Services department's headquarters relocated to the COC campus at 5530 Overland Avenue in the Spring of 2025. 

Please see below a list of known County/City of San Diego Public Health Officers:

  1. Thomas C. Stockton, M.D. (1880’s)
  2. David Gochenauer, M.D. (early 1910’s)
  3. Dr. Ernest Chartres-Martin (around 1918)
  4. Alex M. Lesem, M.D. (1923-1949)
  5. J.B. Askew, M.D. (1949-1975)
  6. John R. Philp, M.D. (1976-1979)
  7. Donald G. Ramras, M.D. (1979-1994)
  8. Robert K. Ross, M.D., M.P.A. (1994-2000)
  9. George Flores, M.D., M.P.H. (2000-2002)
  10. Nancy L. Bowen, M.D., M.P.H. (2002-2007)
  11. Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.PH. (February 2, 2007- June 20, 2024)
  12. (Interim) Ankita Kadakia, M.D. (June 21, 2024-May 15, 2025)
  13. Sayone Thihalolipavan, M.D., M.P.H., (May 16, 2025-Present)