Historic Medical Inspection (2nd Floor)

The Historic Medical Exam included watching immigrants climb stairs to the Second Floor.

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

As immigrants entered the building and climbed the stairs, doctors watched for a limp, labored breathing, or other suspected troubles. While ten percent were held back for additional medical examination, eventually all but one percent were allowed entry to the United States. After you read about the Doctors and the Six-Second Exam, walk across the Great Hall and have a seat on one of the Benches before scrolling to the Great Hall Bench Section.

The Doctors of Ellis Island

The doctors of Ellis Island were commissioned officers of the U.S. Public Health Service. Officially known as surgeons, they were in charge of the Ellis Island Hospital and the medical examination of immigrants in a routine procedure called the line inspection. As long lines of immigrants slowly entered Ellis Island's Registry Room, they were examined swiftly and expertly by the doctors for any sign of disease or signs of physical or mental weakness.

The Six Second Exam

U.S. Public Health Service doctors sometimes had only six seconds to scan each immigrant during the line inspection, a rapid, efficient process meant only to detect those who should be held for a more through medical examination. Experienced doctors could recognize the signs of a wide variety of diseases and disabilities. In 1917, the U.S. Public Health Service printed a list of over 60 health conditions - from anemia to varicose veins - that doctors could spot during the brief line inspection.