---

Description

---

Welcome to Harper University Hospital
The DMCs Harper University Hospital is one of the nations premier hospitals consistently ranking near the top of the US News amp World Report quotAmericas Best Hospitalsquot

Our Mission
As part of the Detroit Medical Center Harper University Hospital aspires to be the premier health care resource in Southeast Michigan and among the finest health care centers in the United States through excellence in the provision of clinical care enhanced by education and research In all clinical endeavors quality of care is paramount In addition the DMC and Harper believe access to quality health care is the right of every human being The DMC along with local state and federal government supports a unique Public Mission to residents of the communities we serve to assure this right is preserved

Our Vision
The Detroit Medical Center and Harper will be known for

Quality costeffective care

Accessible responsive and personalized service

Innovation and academic stature

Mutually beneficial relationships with medical staff

Management leadership and a positive work environment

Community service and stewardship

Fiscal control responsibility and efficiency

---

History

---

History
Established in 1863 Harper University Hospital is among Americas oldest and most highly regarded teaching institutions During nearly 150 years in Detroit Harper has made significant contributions to medicine and research Heres a timeline of noteworthy events breakthroughs and firsts at Harper University Hospital

1863 Harper Hospital now Harper University Hospital is founded One of its first tasks is treating wounded Civil War soldiers

1868 Harper begins serving as a teaching hospital for Wayne State University School of Medicine making it Michigans oldest teaching hospital

1901 Harper University Hospital obtains its first xray equipment then called Skyography The hospital soon begins using xrays to destroy cancer cells

1952 Harper University Hospital is the site of the worlds first successful openheart surgery using a mechanical heart bypass pump The pump was developed by an automotive engineer GM scientists and Harper Hospital physician Dr Forest Dodrill

1964 Jerome Horwitz PhD synthesizes Azidothymidine AZT in a Michigan Cancer Foundation lab at Harper University Hospital Originally designed as an anticancer drug AZT later becomes the first drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of AIDS

1967 Dr Jerome Horwitz creates dideoxycytidine ddC Years later it becomes the second cancer drug approved for AIDS patients

1987 The Vaitkevicius Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI Center is built adjacent to Harper University Hospital The facility uses stateof theart equipment to detect tumors

1991 The worlds first superconducting cyclotron for cancer treatment is installed in the Gershenson Radiation Oncology Center at Harper University Hospital

1995 The Department of Neurological Surgery debuts Gamma Knife technology making Harper University Hospital the first in Michigan to offer noninvasive treatment for brain tumors

1999 Harper launches Stroke Risk Assessment and Prevention Program STRAP the first program of its kind in Michigan

2004 Harpers Department of Neurological Surgery is first in Michigan to offer Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging iMRI

2004 Harpers Solid Organ Transplant Team is first in Michigan to perform kidney transplants on HIV recipients

2004 Harper University Hospital becomes the only hospital in Michigan with FDA approval to train physicians on how to perform a new carotid artery stenting procedure with embolic protection system

2004 Harper University Hospital opens Michigans only Center for Sarcoidosis

2004 through 2010 Harper is named to the US News amp World Report Americas Best Hospitals ranking for Neurology and Neurosurgery in 2004 and continues on the ranking for consecutive years through 2010

2005 Harper University Hospital becomes first in Michigan and second in the country to be certified as a Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery by the JCAHO

2005 Harper University Hospital purchases and installs a 64Slice CT scanner one of the first in Michigan

2007 Harper purchases and installs a 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI scanner

2009 Harper purchases and installs a 15T Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI scanner

2007 through 2009 Harper University Hospital is named a Leapfrog Top Hospital by the Leapfrog Group in 2007 and continues on the prestigious ranking through 2009

2008 Richard T Klapchar DO joins Harper University Hospital as chief of Otolaryngology and begins a renaissance of the hospitals ENT program

2008 Harper University Hospital and the DMC launch Cardio Team One the nations first 247 heart attack response team

2009 Harper establishes the Cardiovascular Institute a worldclass heart and vascular center that offers Michigans most comprehensive cardiovascular services and treatments

2009 Harper University Hospital is certified as a Center of Excellence for Stroke

2009 Harper University Hospital is named to the US News amp World Report Americas Best Hospitals ranking for Heart and Heart Surgery in 2009