Estella Ford Warner 1891-1974

Officer in the United States Public Health Service

Estella Ford Warner graduated from the University of Oregon’s medical school in 1918. After running a flourishing pediatric practice in Portland, she became deeply involved in public health work.  

Dr. Warner had a firm conviction that “the best road to good child health is preventive medicine on a community basis.” In her early years, she was well known for her work in the Oregon State and County maternal and child services.  

Based on her outstanding reputation in Oregon, Dr. Warner was appointed by President Herbert Hoover to the United States Public Health Services in 1932, tasked with touring the country in the name of public hygiene and recommending improvements. She was the first woman to serve with the agency, ultimately being named Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and helping to improve global standards of pediatric and maternal care. 

Also associated with the World Health Organization, she spent years increasing services for Native Americans in the desert Southwest, extending the reach of care into Southeast Asia, and making significant inroads to advance sanitation and malaria control in India.  

At the time of her retirement in 1955, Dr. Warner was celebrated for her successful efforts “to extend and enrich millions upon millions of lives.”