Women's ward, AWH #1, Luzancy, France

When they arrived in France, the doctors of AWH found a devastated countryside and villagers suffering from longstanding health problems made worse by wartime conditions. The first hospital established by the American Women's Hospitals (AWH) in July 1918 was in Neufmotiers, a small village about 20 miles southeast of Paris. In September of 1918, the hospital was moved to Luzancy so that it was closer to the devastated areas and where the doctors handled dysentery, typhoid, influenza, and pneumonia as well as performing long overdue surgeries.  The doctors of AWH did their medical work under extremely difficult circumstances: scarcity of equipment, improvised spaces, poor transportation, and constant uncertainty and insecurity because the front line of battle was always moving back and forth throughout the countryside. The women physicians were welcomed and appreciated by local villagers, and purposefully cultivated good relations with local officials.

The armistice that ended the war in Western Europe on November 11, 1918, did not change conditions in the areas devastated by the war. The doctors of AWH believed that the end of war did not mean the end of their services.  In the hospital at Luzancy (and at other sites), the doctors kept separate wards for men and women.