Federal Occupational Health (FOH) is a service unit within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and, because it was created through an amendment to the Public Health Act, is also a component of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS).

    U.S. Public Health Service

As a component of the USPHS, aspects of FOH’s mission overlap with the mission of the USPHS resulting in an integration of personnel and services. The overall mission of the USPHS is to provide highly trained and mobile health professionals who carry out programs to promote the health of the Nation, understand and prevent disease and injury, assure safe and effective drugs and medical devices, deliver health services to Federal beneficiaries, and furnish health expertise in time of war or other national or international emergencies.

Commissioned Corps officers of the USPHS make up a significant portion of the FOH staff and they serve in a variety of managerial and support roles. As a member of the FOH staff you may work side-by-side with USPHS Commissioned Corps officers. The Commissioned Corps make up one of the seven Uniformed Services in the United States and are often assigned to Federal, State or local agencies or international organizations. These officers work under the direction of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, which is part of the Office of Public Health and Science.