United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations. Medical Dept.

The Medical Department was established in 1921 as the first organized attempt by the Board of Foreign Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., to supervise the health of missionaries on the foreign field because of the growing number of missionaries subject to unsanitary surroundings, malignant diseases, and other stresses that would impair their usefulness or threaten their lives. In 1921, Edward M. Dodd, MD, a former missionary to Persia, was appointed Acting Secretary and later elevated to Executive Secretary of the newly formed department. The department supervised the health of mission personnel on furlough and in the field and aided in the selection of missionary candidates. It assisted in the recruitment of medical candidates and served as a liaison for medical work on the field. Its work was continued by COEMAR under the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.