Hospitals and Public Health: Conflicting Or Complementing Each Other

Abstract

Hospitals - the original facilities for the sick date back to
the temples dedicated to “healing gods” in Egyptians and
Greeks. The oldest architectural evidence can be dated back
to 9th Century AD in Sri Lanka. The word “hospital” comes
from the Latin word “hoses” for host or “hospitium” meaning
a place to entertain1. While medical schools were established
in Greece in the 6th Century BC, there is consensus that the
first teaching hospital was founded at Gondisapur in present
day Iran in 300 AD Ref). Similarly, the evolution of Public
Health can be traced to the origins of various religions
wherein purity, cleanliness and hygiene had been part of the
religion. The Greek and Indus Valley civilization (3500-
1500 BC) also emphasized the sanitation and drainage
system and building of wells2. However, the concepts of
“treating the sick” and “preventing the healthy from getting
sick” could not be combined and had been treated as separate
entities.