University of Cincinnati College of Medicine - Annual Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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History of the Hospital Although there are rccunls of at least two previtms ailempis at eslahlish- mcnt of hospitals in fint'hmali, 1he first rme that endured anti hemme a hnspital in fact, as well as in name. was the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum, the direct outgrowth of which is the Cincinnati General Hospital as it stands today. Dr. Daniel Drake, having established the Medical College of Ohio, was many years in advance of his time in the realization of the fact that to endure and become a succeseful Merlieai Cnliege, it was neressary for the faculty to have access to an abundance of ciinical material for ptirpttsEs of undergraduate instruction. He also realized that with the steady increase in the city's popu- lation there was great need for a hospital in which the sick poor might receive proper medical attention. In order to provide for these very apparent needs, he began the difficult task of obtaining legislation providing for the establish- ment of a public hospital. The. project met with mnsiderahle oppusilion, but with the assistance of several loyal friends, notably of Wm. H. Harrison, future Preisdent 0f the United States. who at that time was serving in the General Assembly of Ohio, that body finally enacted a law on January 22, 1821. which provided for the erection of a public hospital in Cincinnati. The plan excited much local opposition due to the fear of increased taxation and it was neressary for some of the faculty of the College and their friends to unite and pledge a bond of indemnity tn the tnwnship, before the law was approved late in the spring of 1821i As a result, a four-acre tract of land was secured at what is now the corner of Twelfth and Ehn Streets and a three story brick building was erected at a total cost of less than eight thousand tltaliars. In 1823 it was Opened for the admission of patients. serving as a general hospital and lunatic asylum besides having LlCCUmmOdiltions for the aged, inhrm, indigent and orphans. In addition it contained a student lecture room and thus from its inception served as a Hteatthing hospital. With an addition erected in 1827. which increased the capacity to one hundred and Fifty beds, it served all these purposes until 1833. when the Cin- cinnati Orphan Asylum was built and the institution's activity as an orphanage cattle to an end. With the establishment of the City Infirmary in 1852, for the care of the aged and indigent, and a separate asylum in .1853, for the insane. the institution became in reality a hospital and it became known as the i'Cnm- mcrcial Hospital of Cincinnati. At this time a campaign for funds for new buildings was successful, but construction was prevented by the beginning of the Civil War. Early in 1865, the overcrowded condition was relieved by the erection of a temporary auncxt but after the war, the need for additional facilities was so great that bonds were issued for the construction of a new hospital and the name of the institution was changed to the Cincinnati Hespitaif! The edifice was completed and equipped in 1869 at an approximate cost of a million dollars. In its day it was considered the most magnificent structure of its kind on the Western mm- Page Thirtyjiw

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tineut. In 1871. an nut-patient dispensary was established in connection with the hospital and in 1.895 a Branch Hospital was erected in Price Hill for the. care of patients suffering fmm pulmonary tuberculosis. The advent of the twentieth century found the hospital in very poor phy- sical condition. Due to inadequate appmpriations over a number of years, very necessary repairs were neglected. Although it had accommodations for four hundred and eighty patients. nmrerttrewding'' was a constant complaint and at times it was necessary for patients to sleep on mattresses thrown on the floors, of the wards. The place had had a wonderful history and had fulhlled a high purpose. It had numbered among its staff some of the greatest medical teachers of the century, but it had outlived its period of usefulness in a growing, ' CJW. HThen in the suburbs it Stuud, in the midst of meadows and woodlands; Now the city surrounds it. but still with its gateway and wicket. Meek. in the midst of splendor. its humble walls seem to echo Softly the. worth; rut the Lord, che poor ye have always with you. This condition of affairs called for action 011 the part of the Trustees. who appointed a committee to Hcarefully inquire into the necessary improvements needed in the old hospital. These improvements called for such a great ex- penditure that the committee advised against them and suggested the erection nf a new hospital. As a result. the campaign for the present magnificent institution was launched. In this project the city was fortunate in having auuther great far-sighted leader to guide the movement. The planning, building and equipping 0f the new lmspitat. new known as the 'iCinCinnati General Hospital asnwell as the Medicai College Building that followed, is as insep- artlbly linked with the illustrious name of Dr. Christian R. Holmes. as is the history of the original hospitai with that of Dr. Daniel Drake. After months of investigation of leading hospitals throughout the world, plans were submitted and accepted and the city voted bonds for the erection of the new edifice. The contagious group was completed in 1911, and on February 20, IDES, the entire hospital was formally surrendered to the city authorities. On March 1, hegan the transfer of patients from the old building and within a few days. the institution was functioning almost to capacity. In l917, the Out-Patient Dispensary was established in connection with the hospital. The Cincinnati General Hospital is today the finest example of modern hospital construction in the muntry. There is 110 other 50 complete in every detail or in which the provisions for every function have been so carefully planned and executed. Situated on a 67 acre tract in one of the city's pleasant suburbs. it was erected by the citizens of Cincinnati at an approximate Cost of six millions of dollars. It has provisions for the care of eight hundred and fifty patients and is in every sense. a modem municipal hospital. It func- tions to the fullest extent as a teaching hospital. corepemtes with every agency that has for its purpose the betterment of Public Health in Cincinnati, furnishes competent. adequate and efficient medical and surgical service to each patient admitted and plays an active part in the general programme for better health in the city. Page Thfrly-s'fx