Sick Bay

Sick Bay is the Ship’s medical center. During battle, there were several "dressing stations" and "aid units" throughout the Ship in addition to Sick Bay.

Due to their size, battleships had more extensive medical facilities than smaller ships. Since smaller ships might not have an operating room or even a doctor, they would send patients to the larger ships when needed.

According to Organization & Regulations U.S.S. NORTH CAROLINA, Sick Bay had a staff of 39 people:

4 doctors

3 dentists

1 pharmacist

1 chief pharmacist’s mate*

22 pharmacist’s mates*

8 hospital apprentices

* pharmacist’s mates are the equivalent of hospital corpsmen in today’s Navy

"We had sick call every morning. The bugler sounded ‘sick call’ and the word was passed over the public address system. If you needed to go, you notified your division petty officer and then you reported to sick bay. A pharmacist’s mate wrote up your complaint and either took care of you himself or referred you to one of the ship’s four doctors. One time my gums were infected. After I was treated, I went for a follow-up exam and the doctor asked me about my tonsils. I said they seemed fine. The doctor asked me if I got colds and when I said sometimes, the doctor said ‘Let’s take out your tonsils.’ So he did using a local anesthetic. I remember hearing the scissors cut them out. You could also arrange dental appointments for check-ups, not just for emergencies."

- Paul A. Wieser