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Milestones: St. Vincent's Medical Center
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Business New Haven
11/24/2003
By: Priscilla Searles
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St. Vincent's Medical Center
2800 Main Street
Bridgeport, CT 06606
Tel: 203-576-6000
Ownership: Member of Ascension Health, Affiliate New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System
Web: www.stvincents.org
Milestone: 100 years
Timeline: At the end of the 19th century European immigrants were flocking to Bridgeport. To address the health-care needs of the city's newest residents, local Catholic physicians contacted Father Nihill, then pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Bridgeport. He was asked to contact the Daughters of Charity, a religious women's community known for its work in hospitals, orphanages and schools.
Following a needs assessment, the Daughters of Charity determined that a second hospital was needed in Bridgeport. A tract of land on the city's north end, known as Hawley Farm, was chosen as the site. The hospital was incorporated on May 19, 1903. The cost of constructing the 75-bed building was approximately $250,000.
St. Vincent's Hospital opened on June 28, 1905. By the end of its first day more than 70 patients had been treated, validating the need for the new facility. Over the years the hospital building was expanded and educational programs and patient serves added, including the School of Nursing.
Soon a fourth floor and side buildings were added. Despite the additions, the hospital outgrew its capacity. A new building was needed. In the mid-1970s it was decided to move the hospital to Fairfield. But unexpected building and development costs and concern over inner-city patient access to the hospital forced the Daughters of Charity and the board of directors to reconsider their decision.
So a new hospital was constructed behind the original facility. On Easter Sunday, April 17, 1976, 209 patients were transferred from the old facility to the new St. Vincent's Medical Center, a 440,000-square-foot building almost twice the size of the old one.
Today the 100-year-old St. Vincent's Medical Center, the flagship of the St. Vincent's Health Services system, is a 397-bed acute care hospital offering more than 50 specialty and subspecialty medical and surgical disciplines. Serving southwestern Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y., St. Vincent's has some 450 physicians on its active medical staff, and employs more than 1,800 people. It has an annual operating budget of $188.5 million.
Achievements and Accomplishments: St. Vincent's is one of a select few acute care hospitals in the nation ever to receive Accreditation with Commendation twice (1993-96, 1996-99) during the years it was offered by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. St. Vincent's also has been designated a "Top 100 Hospital" for three consecutive years (1999, 2000 and 2001) by Solucient, a monitor of national health-care data. It is owned by Ascension Health, the nation's largest Catholic health-care system and third-largest not-for-profit health-care company.
Centers of excellence comprise treatment for cardiovascular disease including angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery; cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and support; joint replacement including total knee, hip and shoulder; women's services including a contemporary maternity center with a neonatal special-care unit; senior services including wellness programs; and a full range of behavioral health services. With one of the largest angioplasty programs in New England, St. Vincent's implemented in 1995 a PAMI (primary angioplasty for myocardial infarction) program that assures the availability of emergency angioplasty within one hour, 24 hours a day. St. Vincent's also is a designated Level II Trauma Center and has a landing pad for medical helicopters.
Looking Back on a Changing Industry: A patient entering the hospital 100 years ago would not have imagined the staff of doctors trained in the breadth of medical specialties that span the health-care spectrum. Lengthy stays were the norm, but in 2001 the average length of stay at St. Vincent's was 5.44 days.
Part of St. Vincent's mission is to provide health education, wellness programs geared to all ages and cancer screening and assistance programs. The emphasis in medicine today is on prevention. And people in medicine know that they have to care for the mind as well as the body. The power of positive thinking is an intrinsic part of medicine today.
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