Category: Famous Hospitals
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Colonial madness: The Public Hospital of Williamsburg, Virginia
Brian Andrew SharplessPullman, United States Although it is widely known that the first hospital in the United States was the Pennsylvania Hospital (founded in 1751 in Philadelphia), few may realize that the first American hospital devoted exclusively to treating the mentally ill was built in Virginia. The Public Hospital of Williamsburg (also known as Eastern…
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Boston Dispensary
Birju RaoChicago, Illinois, United States Sometimes, what seems like a miracle is actually a product of history. I It was the dead of night on a chilly April 18, 1775, in the large town of Arlington, MA. A muffled shout and a distant sound of hooves startled the sleepy village watchmen. The beating hooves drew…
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Royal Hospital Haslar: End of an era
Ben WilliamsonLondon, United Kingdom In March 2007 Surgeon Captain Campbell lowered the flag and led his staff on a march out of the Royal Hospital Haslar, marking the closure of the United Kingdom’s last dedicated military hospital.1 The hospital had been at the core of the care system for the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy for…
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The Montreal Children’s Hospital
Barry PlessMontreal, Canada Hospitals are more than bricks and mortar. The Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH) is no exception. Like all famous hospitals, there is little about the buildings themselves that warrant acclaim. It is the accomplishments and contributions of the staff that make them respected. Accordingly, this account focuses on some of those who have…
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Ospitale di San Matteo
Antonio Dal Canton Pavia, Italy Chronicle of the foundation On June 29, 1449, the morning in Pavia was unusually clear and the air dry and lukewarm. A light northern breeze moved the trembling silvery leaves of the willows on the banks of the river Ticino. It was Sunday and Holy Mass was celebrated in many…
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The “Samariterhaus” Hospital and the “Institute for Experimental Cancer Research” in Heidelberg
Annette TuffsHeidelberg, Germany Dedicated to another great German Cancer Surgeon, J.R. Siewert, who has introduced me to the legacy of Vinzenz Czerny On the 25th of September 1906, a large crowd of Heidelberg citizens expectantly lined the town boulevard to the university’s Great Hall, waiting to cheer on the Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden and his wife…
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The Endell Street Military Hospital
Anne CooperStanmore, Australia In 1914, when Britain declared war on Germany, the women of Britain were still being denied the vote. The parliament, headed by liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, had been largely indifferent to the demands for women’s suffrage. Despite public support, precedents in the colonies,1 bombings, jail terms, hunger strikes, destruction of art,…
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Scutari Crimean War Hospital
Annabelle SlingerlandRobin SeeleyThe Netherlands While hospitals are often idealized as peaceful places, Scutari Hospital shatters all such dreams. It became notorious for bare battlefields, turbulent turmoil, traumatized soldiers, officers, governments. But its silver lining was nursing and scientific innovation that resulted in compassionate care with cutting edge technology. Just beyond Crimea, the Black Sea emerges,…
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Ellis Island Hospital, from quarantine to freedom
Annabelle S. SlingerlandLeiden, the Netherlands The recent news and concerns about immigration into Europe and other parts of the world bring to mind similar events and fears prevailing in the years during which millions of people immigrated into the United States of America. During that period, under the benevolent gaze of the Statue of Liberty…