How it all started.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit, North American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. The clinic was was founded in 1921 by four physicians (George Crile Sr., MD, Frank Bunts, MD, William Lower, MD, and John Phillips, MD) for the purpose of providing patient care based on sound clinical evidence, research findings and medical education—a model that has continued to this day.
An early adopter of group practice (several physicians working together as a team), was largely unheard of at that time outside of military Field Hospitals during wartime mobilization periods (1914–1918), these four physicians recruited other talented specialists to join them.
When they outgrew their original space above a store front on Euclid Avenue, they purchased land on East 93rd Street where they built an 80-bed hospital known today as Cleveland Clinic Main Campus.
The practice had many admirers (including William Randolph Hearst, Charles Lindberg and United States government officials) and through donantions, the founders were able to purchase 4 nearby houses just one year after opening.
This helped the practice grow as they had already attracted approx. 15 physicians and several nurses to their new building. The four additional houses were used as an administration building, radiation department and in-patient/long term care facilities.
A terrible fire that cause heavy loss of life.
It is thought that the fire started from old style x-ray films that was stored in the practices basement. On the 15th of May, 1929 the whole clinic caught fire and was filled with toxic smoke.
The fire is thought to have started from old style x-ray films combusting. They was stored in the practices basement and tragically the smoke and the toxic fumes took control and 123 people lost their life that day. One of the casualties that day was John Phillips, who was one of the founding physicians.
Services: Research and patient care.
The clinic focuses on research and education as well as providing medical services. It houses the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and its main campus contains more than 1,400 beds for patients.
Cleveland Clinic’s patient satisfaction ratings consistently rank among the highest for hospitals in the United States. It also has a large number of volunteer at all it’s locations.
While the Cleveland Clinic’s main focus is still on patient care, its research enterprise has grown significantly since its early days. In 2014, the Cleveland Clinic was ranked #2 in the nation for NIH funding among independent hospitals.
Today, it maintains partnerships with some of the world’s leading companies in healthcare technology, such as Apple, Samsung, and Google. These relationships help to fuel Cleveland Clinic’s continued innovation and drive toward its goal of providing better care for more people at a lower cost.
National and international expansion.
International operations include the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi hospital in the United Arab Emirates and Cleveland Clinic Canada, which has two executive health and sports medicine clinics in Toronto. Another hospital campus in the United Kingdom, Cleveland Clinic London, opened to outpatients in 2021 and is scheduled to fully open in 2022.
In recent years the clinic has opened full-service hospitals in Florida (near Miami and Orlando) and Nevada (near Las Vegas).
The present administration.
Tom Mihaljevic, MD is the current president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic. In his address in January 2022 he stated that,
Our plan is simple, to provide the best possible care, invent it through research and innovation, then share it with the world.
Cleveland Clinic survived the global pandemic and is now expanding to Abu Dabi and London. With approx $415 M in philantropic contributions the clinic is set for futher expansion and clinal excellence.
About new interns and oppertunities he said,
Our philosophy is to hire for skill not for resume. We have elimiated degree requirements for many jobs. Last year we’ve hired trained and promoted 600 Black Ohioans, surpassing our goal. One in four new leaders identify as a minority.
Modern times.
From it’s humble beginnings Cleveland Clinic has grown into one of America’s largest healthcare providers with annual operating expenses of over $8 billion dollars (USD) supporting a staff nearing 44 thousand employees who see nearly 4 million patients annually from every state in America and almost 150 countries around the world.
Conclusion.
In 2020-21, U.S. News & World Report ranked Cleveland Clinic as the fourth best hospital overall and third best hospital for cancer care in the nation. Additionally in 2021, it was ranked as the best hospital for cardiology & heart surgery.
Sources: THX News, Wikipedia & Cleveland Clinic.
