The University of Chicago Medical Center

Name :

The University of Chicago Medical Center

Address  :

5841 S. Maryland Avenue

Town  :

Chicago

State  :

Illinois

Country  :

USA

Post Code:

60637

Phone  :

1 888 824 0200

Web URL  :

Available

Description

About the University of Chicago Medical Center
The University of Chicago Medical Center UCMC has been at the forefront of medicine since 1927 when we cared for our first patients Our mission is to provide superior healthcare in a compassionate manner ever mindful of each patients dignity and individuality To accomplish our mission we call upon the skills and expertise of all who work together to advance medical innovation serve the health needs of the community and further the knowledge of those dedicated to caring

More than just a hospital the Medical Center consists of

Bernard A Mitchell Hospital the primary adult inpatient care facility

University of Chicago Comer Childrens Hospital devoted to the medical
needs of children

Chicago Lyingin Hospital a maternity and womens hospital

Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine a stateoftheart outpatient care
facility

Regional Doctors Offices located throughout the Chicagoland area

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine one of the nations
premier medical schools

Medical Center physicians are members of the University of Chicago Physicians Group UCPG which includes more than 700 physicians and covers the full array of medical and surgical specialties UCPG physicians are faculty members of the Pritzker School of Medicine

These organizations are headed by James L Madara MD chief executive officer for the University of Chicago Medical Center dean of the Division of Biological Sciences and vice president for medical affairs

History

A Brief History of the Medical Center
A New Century
Although the University of Chicago began in 1892 it was not until 1898 that the University became involved in medicine Under President William Rainey Harper Chicago temporarily became affiliated with the Rush Medical College with quotthe distinct purpose of the University to establish such a Medical School when funds shall have been providedquot Decennial address by Harper 1902

Not until 1916 did such an event occur Initially the Board of Trustees set aside 53 million for construction equipment and an endowment However World War I put a halt to the development The project resumed in 1921 eventually reaching completion in 1927 By that time costs had skyrocketed to nearly five times that of the original estimate

More Than a Medical School
Dedicated on Halloween in 1927 the University of Chicago Hospitals quickly solidified under the direction of Frank Billings MD Expansion quickly followed

In 1928 the Hospitals began construction on the Home for Destitute and
Crippled Children

In 1931 it became trustee for the Country Home for Convalescent Children

In 1938 it merged with the Chicago Lyingin Hospital

Not all growth was planned though In 1933 Walter Zoller gave more than 2 million to start a dental program for the poor His funds were put to good useby 1946 the Zoller Clinic successfully showed in clinical studies that fluoride in drinking water could help prevent tooth decay

World War II slowed physical expansion but only speeded research In addition to training a record number of doctors and nurses the University of Chicago Hospitals pioneered nuclear medicine discovered a treatment for lymphomas and leukemia in mustard gas and assisted the Army in the development of chloroquine as a treatment for malaria

Expansion and Growth
During the 1950s and 60s the Hospitals doubled in size Adding two cancer research centers Wyler Childrens Hospital two research laboratories and other state of the art facilities the University of Chicago Hospitals multiplied from five divisions to 10 increasing the faculty by 100 percent between 1961 and 1971 Between 1963 and 1974 the staff doubled as well

During the last two decades the Hospitals has added the Brain Research Pavilion the Aeromedical Network and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine The Hospitals also added another Nobel Prize winner to its ranks bringing its grand total of affiliated winners in medicine or physiology to 11

The most recent addition to the Hospitals is a new home for childrens medicine The stateoftheart sevenstory University of Chicago Comer Childrens Hospital opened in early 2004

To learn more about the history of the Hospitals read For the Greatest Good to the Largest Number A History of the University of Chicago 19271977 by CW Vermeulen MD which can be found in the John Crerar Library