Dr. Garfield and his team planned to work out of the Mason City Hospital. Henry J. Kaiser Co., Ltd. had received the hospital as part of the dam contract. However, the hospital was poorly designed. Union workers in the area cited poor care and had lost trust in any health plan. Dr. Garfield believed that renovating the Mason City Hospital and providing excellent care would help rebuild trust with workers.
The renovations were finished in the summer of 1938. The hospital featured an integrated design — putting specialty care, a pharmacy, a clinic, and other care departments in a single building. Learning from his experiences with the Colorado River Aqueduct project, Dr. Garfield introduced a prepayment family plan. Workers prepaid a small weekly fee to cover medical care for themselves and their family.
When Henry J. Kaiser arrived for a visit, the 2 men spent the whole day talking about the health plan. Kaiser showed a lot of interest in its potential. “If your plan achieves even half of what you claim, it should be available to every person in this country,” Kaiser remarked.
The health plan for workers and families was a success. It provided coverage for injuries, illnesses, and preventive care, ensuring workers and their families got the right care at the right time.
Like his previous job in the desert, the Grand Coulee job was also a temporary contract for Dr. Garfield. But he often discussed what could be possible for the health plan with colleagues.
“We’d get together at Coulee at nighttime and talk about what we could do in a permanent community where (the health plan continued),” Dr. Garfield recalled.
Dr. Garfield planned to continue practicing surgery but wanted to refresh his skills and training first. He returned to the University of Southern California Medical School and taught surgery at LA County Hospital.