The desert Doctor who invented prepaid care – American Healthcare Chronicles

I recently started building products focused on healthcare affordability in the US. As I was ramping up on a new space, the biggest question that sparked my curiosity was: how did we get here? This question is the inspiration for this weekly series chronicling the decisions, accidents, and breakthroughs that built the US healthcare system. In 1933, a 27-year-old doctor named Sidney Garfield borrowed money from his father, drove out to the Mojave Desert, and built a 12-bed hospital in the sand. He had signed a contract to provide medical care for 5,000 construction workers building the Colorado River Aqueduct — the most ambitious water project in California’s history. The nearest hospital was hours away. The work was dangerous and the desert heat was unforgiving. Garfield’s radical belief was that a doctor’s job was to keep people healthy, not just treat them when they broke down. So, he introduced safety education, hydration protocols, annual checkups. Injury rates among his workers…