History of MetroHealth

 

1855 - The City Infirmary

     City Hospital was founded in 1837.  By 1855, the hospital had outgrown its original quarters on East 14th Street and moved to the Brooklyn Township Poorhouse on Scranton Road.  On this site, the City of Cleveland erected a new brick building at a cost of $25,000.  This building was called the City Infirmary.  When City Infirmary opened, the hospital consisted of only one department, and had no staff.  The medical care of patients was entrusted to the City Physician, Dr. Gustav Weber.

 

1899 - The New City Hospital

     The Infirmary population continued to increase, and by 1887, the facility was caring for more than 500 patients.  In that year, Cleveland City Council approved construction of a new, 175-bed general hospital, to be located next to the Infirmary at a cost not to exceed$60,000.  This new hospital was officially named City Hospital.  With the opening of the new building in 1889, City Hospital began a metamorphosis from a poorhouse to a modern health care institution.  The new hospital was a three-story brick structure with stone trim, built in accordance with the most recent achievements in medical science.  Fifty-two years after its establishment, City Hospital aspired to the most ....

 

A Privilege To Teach

     In 1891, a group of 28 physicians and surgeons formed the first medical staff at City Hospital.  They served without pay.  In return for their work, they asked only for the privilege of using City Hospital as a training ground for medical students.  Cooperation between a medical school and hospital was widespread for many years in Europe.  This practice was instituted at City Hospital a little more than a year after the new hospital building opened.  Students would receive instruction and practical experience on the wards of City Hospital.

     In July 1891, physicians representing the faculties of the three medical colleges of Cleveland - Western Reserve, Wooster Medical College, and Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College - met with Superintendent L.F. Mellen of City Hospital.  They selected a competitive examination as the method to be used in the appointment of house staff members.  Only medical school graduates would be considered for the position.  Candidates for the position of house physician appeared before the examining board, and three were selected, Drs. Long, Feil, and Taylor began their internships in the fall of 1892.  They served for 18 months, without pay, and were required to live in the hospital.

     Also, by mutual agreement, the City Hospital meidcal staff was divided between the three medical schools, and served for periods of four months each.

     In 1893, the requirements for a M.D. at Western Reserve University was three sessions, lasting 24weeks each, or a total of 72 weeks.  At that time, only a few graduates of the medical school took an internships of a year in a hospital.  Most immediately entered private practice.

 

1914 - School of Medicine Affiliation Begins

     In 1914, the medical management of City Hospital became affiliated with the Western Reserve University School of Medicine, one of the nation's most respected medical schools.  An agreement was signed between the city and the university, by which the university assumed responsibility for the care of all patients and would nominate the full-time staff of the hospital.  This relationship assured that City Hospital doctors would be trained in the latest medical advances and expand the opportunities for teaching and research.  This agreement is still in effect today.

 

Recruitment of Full-Time Faculty

     Dean Joseph T. Wearn pioneered a radically altered curriculum at Western Reserve University Medical School in 1952 that drew worldwide attention.  In order to implement this curriculum change, Dr. Wearn realized he needed to utilize and upgrade the clinical programs at City Hospital.  To accomplish this end, he suggested to Cleveland Mayor Thomas Burke that City Hospital should recruit full-time physicians for the major services of Surgery, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Obstetrics at City Hospital.  At this time, the heads of departments at University Hospitals served as heads of services at City Hospital.  These members of the attending staff, Dean Wearn said, had to earn their living by private practice and naturally their first responsibility was to their practice.  Dean Wearn believed that the appointment of a full-time staff at City Hospital, would 1) make the service at City Hospital independent and autonomous, 2) provide professional staff whose first interest would be to build up the services at City Hospital, and 3) raise the medical care at City Hospital to the highest level.

     In order to attract prominent scientists to City Hospital, Dean Wearn also suggested that new laboratory facilities be constructed.  He believed a modern research lab would raise the standard and quality of medical care, diagnosis, and treatment for citizens of the community.  By attracting a better staff, a better caliber of interns and residents would come to City Hospital.  The research building was completed in 1953.