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Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967), had a number of contracts with the US Maritime Commission for flexible and inexpensive cargo ships during the 1930s. As the threat of war grew more apparent in the 1930s, the US Congress passed the American Merchant Marine Act in 1936, authorizing construction of 50 merchant ships that could be readily converted to wartime use by the US Navy. One hundred more were ordered in 1939, and 200 in 1940. (These ships included three merchant types and one tanker propelled by steam turbines.) During the Battle of Britain in 1940, Kaiser negotiated a large contract with the British Government for 60 new tramp steamships (known at the time as "Liberty Ships") to replace those sunk by the Germans. Kaiser erected four shipyard assembly lines in the Richmond area in 1939-1940, a complex that by war's end had turned out a extraordinary 747 ships. He also built an adjacent metal-manufacturing plant for his subsidiary, the Permanente Metals Corporation. Following the Pearl Harbor Attack of 12/07/1941, the importance of the Richmond ship-building facilities redoubled, as they were called upon to assist in the reconstruction of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet. Hastily set up in 1942, the Kaiser Richmond Field Hospital attended to ill and oft-injured shipyard workers; shipyard accidents occurred frequently, delaying crucial production schedules. In response, the company developed the "Kaiser Plan," a prepaid health plan for its employees, which proved to be trailblazing, becoming a prototype for the health maintenance organization (HMOs) developed in the US after World War II. During the war at Richmond, Kaiser developed a three-part triage system to treat injured workers: on site first-aid stations treated those with minor injuries, the Richmond Field Hospital handled more significant problems, and Kaiser's main hospital in Oakland, CA, received the most critically ill or injured. While the shipyards closed after the war (due to Kaiser's amazing efficiency), the Kaiser Richmond Field Hospital continued treating patients still covered by Kaiser Plan insurance. It was replaced by a new Richmond Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in 1995.

The Kaiser Richmond Field Hospital was a contributing part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park (#01000287), created 01/31/2001.

Over the years, the Richmond medical center grew in size from a single, one-story building with four beds, to a larger facility with 160 beds by 1944.

PCAD id: 18029