A hospital is an institution for health care providing treatment by specialised staff and equipment, and often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays. Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing

Today, hospitals are usually funded by the state, health organizations (for profit or non-profit), health insurances or charities, including direct charitable donations. For-profit hospitals, or alternatively investor-owned hospitals are Investor -owned chains of Hospitals which have been established particularly in the United A non-profit organization ( abbreviated "NPO" also "not-for-profit" is a legally constituted Organization whose objective is to support or engage The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of Insurance that pays for medical expenses The definition of charitable organization, and of charity varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates In history, however, they were often founded and funded by religious orders or charitable individuals and leaders. Similarly, modern-day hospitals are largely staffed by professional physicians, surgeons and nurses, whereas in history, this work was usually done by the founding religious orders or by volunteers. A physician, medical practitioner or medical doctor who practices Medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human Health In Medicine, a surgeon is a person who performs Surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive Medical treatment that involves the cutting of a A nurse is responsible—along with other Health care Professionals —for the treatment safety and recovery of acutely or chronically

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Types 2.1 General 2.2 Specialized 2.3 Teaching 2.4 Clinics 3 Departments 4 History 4.1 Ancient Asia 4.2 Roman Empire 4.3 Medieval Islam 4.4 Medieval Europe 4.5 Colonial America 4.6 Modern era 5 Criticism 6 Funding 7 Buildings 7.1 Architecture 7.2 Infrastructure 7.3 Electrical 7.4 Information 8 References & Notes 9 External links

Etymology

During the Middle Ages the hospital could serve other functions, such as almshouse for the poor, hostel for pilgrims, or hospital school. Almshouses are charitable Housing provided to enable people (typically elderly people who can no longer work to earn enough to pay Pilgrims, or Pilgrim Fathers (or Pilgrim Mothers) is a name commonly applied to the early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth A boarding school is a School where some or all pupils not only study but also live during term time with their fellow students and possibly teachers The name comes from Latin hospes (host), which is also the root for the English words hotel, hostel, and hospitality. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging usually on a short-term basis Hostels provide budget-oriented accommodation where guests can rent a bed, sometimes a Bunk bed in a Dormitory and share a bathroom Hospitality refers to the relationship process between a Guest and a host and it also refers to the act or practice of being hospitable that is the reception and entertainment The modern word hotel derives from the French word hostel, which featured a silent s, which was eventually removed from the word. (The circumflex on modern French hôtel hints at the vanished s)

Grammar of the word differs slightly depending on the dialect. Pitch The circumflex accent was first used in the polytonic orthography of Ancient Greek, where it occurred (subject to certain rules on the accented syllable Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. This is one of a series of articles about the differences between American English and In the U. S. , hospital usually requires an article; in Britain and elsewhere, the word is normally used without an article when it is the object of a preposition and when referring to a patient ("in/to the hospital" vs. "in/to hospital"); in Canada, both usages are found.

Types

Some patients in a hospital come just for diagnosis and/or therapy and then leave ('outpatients'); while others are 'admitted' and stay overnight or for several weeks or months ('inpatients'). A patient is any person who receives medical attention care or treatment. Diagnosis is the identification by Process of elimination, of the nature of anything Hospitals are usually distinguished from other types of medical facilities by their ability to admit and care for inpatients.

General

The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which is set up to deal with many kinds of disease and injury, and typically has an emergency ward to deal with immediate threats to health and the capacity to dispatch emergency medical services. A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Injury or bodily injury is Damage or Harm caused to the Structure or function of the Body caused by an outside agent or Emergency Ward is the title of an album released by Nina Simone. Health is a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity Emergency medical services (abbreviated to the initialism "EMS" in many countries are a branch of Emergency services dedicated to providing out-of-hospital A general hospital is typically the major health care facility in its region, with large numbers of beds for intensive care and long-term care; and specialized facilities for surgery, plastic surgery, childbirth, bioassay laboratories, and so forth. Intensive Care Medicine or critical care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the provision of Life support or organ support systems in patients Surgery (from the χειρουργική cheirourgikē, via chirurgiae meaning "hand work" is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental Plastic surgery is a medical specialty interested in the correction of form and function Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a Human Pregnancy or Larger cities may have many different hospitals of varying sizes and facilities.

Specialized

Types of specialized hospitals include trauma centers, rehabilitation hospitals, children's hospitals, seniors' (geriatric) hospitals, and hospitals for dealing with specific medical needs such as psychiatric problems (see psychiatric hospital), certain disease categories, and so forth. A trauma center is a Hospital equipped to provide comprehensive Emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries A children's hospital is a Hospital which offers its services exclusively to children. Geriatrics is the branch of Medicine that focuses on health care of the elderly Psychiatry is a medical specialty which exists to study, prevent, and treat Mental disorders in Humans Psychiatric A psychiatric hospital (previously called insane asylum, mental hospital; or derogatorily looney bin, nut house or Funny Farm) is

A hospital may be a single building or a campus. A campus is traditionally the land on which a College or University and related institutional buildings are situated (Many hospitals with pre-20th-century origins began as one building and evolved into campuses. ) Some hospitals are affiliated with universities for medical research and the training of medical personnel. A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects Biomedical research (or experimental medicine) in general simply known as medical research, is the Basic research or Applied research conducted Worldwide, most hospitals are run on a non-profit basis by governments or charities. A non-profit organization ( abbreviated "NPO" also "not-for-profit" is a legally constituted Organization whose objective is to support or engage Within the United States, most hospitals are not-for-profit. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Teaching

A teaching hospital (or university hospital) is that who combines assistance to patients with teaching to medical students. A teaching hospital is a Hospital that in addition to delivering medical care to patients also provides Clinical education and training to future and current doctors

Clinics

A medical facility smaller than a hospital is called a clinic, and is often run by a government agency for health services or a private partnership of physicians (in nations where private practice is allowed). A clinic (or an outpatient clinic) is a small private or public health facility that is devoted to the care of Outpatients, often in a community in contrast A government agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the Machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions For partnership in cricket terminology see List of cricket terms A partnership is a type of Business entity in which partners Clinics generally provide only outpatient services. A patient is any person who receives medical attention care or treatment.

Departments

See also: :Category:Hospital departments

Hospitals may have any of the following departments or units:

• Behavioral Health Services

• Burn unit
• Cancer Center
• Coronary care unit
• Dispensary
• Emergency department
• Intensive Care Unit
  • Neonatal intensive care unit
  • Trauma center
• Labor and Delivery
• Laboratory Services
• Nursing unit
• Orthopedic Services
• Outpatient Department
• Pharmacy
• Psychiatric ward
• Rehabilitation Services
• Physical Therapy
• Post anesthesia care unit
• Radiology
• Respiratory Therapy
• Surgery
• Urgent care

Non-medical departments include:

• Medical records department
• Release of Information department

History

In ancient cultures, religion and medicine were linked. The earliest known institutions aiming to provide cure were Egyptian temples. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Greek temples dedicated to the healer-god Asclepius might admit the sick, who would wait for guidance from the god in a dream. Greek temples ( Ancient Greek:, grc-Latn ho naós "dwelling" semantically distinct from Latin la templum " Temple Asclepius (pronounced /æsˈkliːpiːəs/, Greek, transliterated Asklēpiós; Latin Aesculapius) is the god of Medicine The Romans adopted his worship. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Under his Roman name Æsculapius, he was provided with a temple (291 BC) on an island in the Tiber in Rome, where similar rites were performed. Events By place Greece Demetrius Poliorcetes joins his son Antigonus, in the siege of Thebes. The Tiber ( Latin Tiberis, Italian Tevere) is the third-longest River in Italy, rising in the Apennine mountains Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 ^[1]

Ancient Asia

The Sinhalese (Sri Lankans) are perhaps responsible for introducing the concept of dedicated hospitals to the world. The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. They speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and number approximately 15 million people with the Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island According to the Mahavamsa, the ancient chronicle of Sinhalese royalty written in the 6th century A. The Mahavamsa, ("Great Chronicle " is a historical poem written in the Pali language of the kings of Sri Lanka. D. , King Pandukabhaya (4th century BC) had lying-in-homes and hospitals (Sivikasotthi-Sala) built in various parts of the country. This is the earliest documentary evidence we have of institutions specifically dedicated to the care of the sick anywhere in the world. ^[2][3] Mihintale Hospital is perhaps the oldest in the world. Eight miles east of Anuradhapura, close to the Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Road is situated the "Missaka Pabbata" which is in height and is one of the peaks ^[4]

Institutions created specifically to care for the ill also appeared early in India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country King Ashoka is said to have founded at least 18 hospitals ca. Ashoka ( Devanāgarī: अशोकः IAST: Aśokaḥ, aɕoːkə(hə Prakrit Imperial title Devanampriya Priyadarsi 230 BC, with physicians and nursing staff, the expense being borne by the royal treasury. ^[5] However, there are historians who strictly dispute the claim that Ashoka built any hospitals at all, and argue that it is based on a mistranslation, with references to 'rest houses' being mistaken for hospitals. The error is thought to have occurred because similar edicts and records talk of Ashoka importing medicinal supplies. ^[6]

State-supported hospitals later appeared in China during the first millennium A. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National D. The first teaching hospital where students were authorized to methodically practice on patients under the supervision of physicians as part of their education, was the Academy of Gundishapur in the Persian Empire. A teaching hospital is a Hospital that in addition to delivering medical care to patients also provides Clinical education and training to future and current doctors The Academy of Gundishapur (in دانشگاه گنديشاپور Dânešgâh Gondišâpur was a renowned academy of learning in the city of Gundeshapur during Late antiquity The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia One expert has argued that "to a very large extent, the credit for the whole hospital system must be given to Persia". ^[7]

Roman Empire

The Romans created valetudinaria for the care of sick slaves, gladiators and soldiers around 100 BC, and many were identified by later archeology. While their existence is considered proven, there is some doubt as to whether they were as widespread as was once thought, as many were identified only according to the layout of building remains, and not by means of surviving records or finds of medical tools. ^[8]

The adoption of Christianity as the state religion of the empire drove an expansion of the provision of care. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The First Council of Nicaea in 325 A. The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey) convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine Events By Place Roman Empire Gladiatorial combat is outlawed in the Roman Empire D. urged the Church to provide for the poor, sick, widows and strangers. It ordered the construction of a hospital in every cathedral town. Among the earliest were those built by the physician Saint Sampson in Constantinople and by Basil, bishop of Caesarea. Sampson the Hospitable (died c 530 was a citizen of Constantinople who devoted his time to serving the poor of the city Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (c 330 – January 1, 379) (Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας Latin The latter was attached to a monastery and provided lodgings for poor and travelers, as well as treating the sick and infirm. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. There was a separate section for lepers. ^[9]

Medieval Islam

Main article: Bimaristan

Further information: Islamic medicine

The earliest recorded hospitals in the medieval Islamic world refer to the hopital of al-Walid ibn 'Abdul Malik (ruled 705-715 CE) which he built in 86 AH (706-707 CE). Bimaristan is a Middle Persian and modern Persian ( بیمارستان bīmārestān) word meaning Hospital, with Bimar- Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ( الوليد بن عبد الملك or Al-Walid I (668 - 715 was a wise and powerful Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 705 It somewhat resembled the Byzantine nosocomia, but was more general as it extended its services to the lepers and the invalid and destitute people. Leprosy (from the Greek lepi (λέπι meaning scales on a fish or Hansen's disease, is a chronic disease caused by the bacterium All treatment and care was free of charge and there was more than one physician employed in this hospital. ^[10]

In the medieval Islamic world, the word "Bimaristan" was used to indicate a hospital in the modern sense, an establishment where the ill were welcomed and cared for by qualified staff. Bimaristan is a Middle Persian and modern Persian ( بیمارستان bīmārestān) word meaning Hospital, with Bimar- In this way, Muslim physicians were the first to make a distinction between a hospital and other different forms of healing temples, sleep temples, hospices, assylums, lazarets and leper-houses, all of which in ancient times were more concerned with isolating the sick and the mad from society "rather than to offer them any way to a true cure. Sleep temples (also known as dream temples or Egyptian sleep temples) are regarded by some as an early instance of Hypnosis over 4000 years ago Sleep temples (also known as dream temples or Egyptian sleep temples) are regarded by some as an early instance of Hypnosis over 4000 years ago Palliative care (from Latin palliare to cloak is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of Disease Symptoms A psychiatric hospital (previously called insane asylum, mental hospital; or derogatorily looney bin, nut house or Funny Farm) is A lazaretto or lazaret is a Quarantine station for maritime travellers Leprosy (from the Greek lepi (λέπι meaning scales on a fish or Hansen's disease, is a chronic disease caused by the bacterium "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. " Some thus consider the medieval Bimaristan hospitals as "the first hospitals" in the modern sense of the word. ^[11] The first public hospitals,^[12] psychiatric hospitals^[13] and medical universities^[14] were also introduced by medieval Muslim physicians. A public hospital is a Hospital which is owned by a Government and receives government funding A psychiatric hospital (previously called insane asylum, mental hospital; or derogatorily looney bin, nut house or Funny Farm) is Medical education A medical school or faculty of medicine is a Tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches Medicine A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects

Between the eighth and twelfth centuries CE Muslim hospitals developed a high standard of care. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Hospitals built in Baghdad in the ninth and tenth centuries employed up to twenty-five staff physicians and had separate wards for different conditions. Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous Al-Qairawan hospital and mosque, in Tunisia, were built under the Aghlabid rule in 830 CE and was simple but adequately equipped with halls organized into waiting rooms, a mosque, and a special bath. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. The Aghlabid dynasty of emirs members of the Arab tribe of Bani Tamim, ruled Ifriqiya (northern Africa nominally on behalf of the Abbasid A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger The hospital employed female nurses, including nurses from Sudan, a sign of great breakthrough. A nurse is responsible—along with other Health care Professionals —for the treatment safety and recovery of acutely or chronically Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. In addition to regular physicians who attended the sick, there were Fuqaha al-Badan, a kind of religious physio-therapists, group of religious scholars whose medical services included bloodletting, bone setting, and cauterisation. During Ottoman rule, when hospitals reached a particular distinction, Sultan Bayazid II built a mental hospital and medical madrasa in Edirne, and a number of other early hospitals were also built in Turkey. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Bayezid II (1447/48 May 26, 1512) ( Ottoman Turkish: بايزيد ثانى Bāyezīd-i sānī, Turkish: II A psychiatric hospital (previously called insane asylum, mental hospital; or derogatorily looney bin, nut house or Funny Farm) is "Madrasa" and "Medrese" redirect here For the village in Azerbaijan see Mədrəsə. Edirne (anc Hadrianopolis; Greek Adrianople; Slavic/Bulgarian Одрин, see also its other names) is a city in Thrace, the westernmost Unlike in Greek temples to healing gods, the clerics working in these facilities employed scientific methodology far beyond that of their contemporaries in their treatment of patients. Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena ^[15]

According to Sir John Bagot Glubb:

"By Mamun's time medical schools were extremely active in Baghdad. Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, better known as Glubb Pasha (born 16 April Abu Jafar al-Ma'mun ibn Harun (also spelled Almamon and el-Mâmoûn) ( September 14, 786 &ndash August 9, 833) (المأمون Medical education A medical school or faculty of medicine is a Tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches Medicine The first free public hospital was opened in Baghdad during the Caliphate of Haroon-ar-Rashid. A public hospital is a Hospital which is owned by a Government and receives government funding A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) is the political leadership of the Muslim community in classical and medieval Islamic history Hārūn al-Rashīd (and Persian: هارون الرشيد) also spelled Harun ar-Rashid; English: Aaron the Upright, Aaron the As the system developed, physicians and surgeons were appointed who gave lectures to medical students and issued diplomas to those who were considered qualified to practice. Medical education A medical school or faculty of medicine is a Tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches Medicine A diploma (from Greek δίπλωµα diploma, meaning "folded paper" is a Certificate or Deed issued by an educational institution The first hospital in Egypt was opened in 872 AD and thereafter public hospitals sprang up all over the empire from Spain and the Maghrib to Persia. Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or Maghrib (مَغْرِب is the fourth daily Salat in Islam, offered at sunset See Also Persian Empire History of Iran and Greater Iran (also referred to as the " Iranian Cultural Continent "^[14]

Medieval Europe

Medieval hospitals in Europe followed a similar pattern. They were religious communities, with care provided by monks and nuns. MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life (An old French term for hospital is hôtel-Dieu, "hostel of God. ") Some were attached to monasteries; others were independent and had their own endowments, usually of property, which provided income for their support. Some hospitals were multi-function while others were founded for specific purposes such as leper hospitals, or as refuges for the poor or for pilgrims: not all cared for the sick. A pilgrim is one who undertakes a Pilgrimage, literally 'far afield' Not until later where most hospitals multi-functional, though the first Spanish hospital, founded by the Catholic Visigoth bishop Masona in 580 at Mérida, was a xenodochium designed as an inn for travellers (mostly pilgrims to the shrine of Eulalia of Mérida) as well as a hospital for citizens and local farmers. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Masona or Mausona (died circa 600/610 was the Bishop of Mérida and Metropolitan of the province of Lusitania from about 570 (certainly by 573 Eulalia of Mérida was a Roman Christian child martyred in Emerita in Lusitania (modern Mérida in Spain) during the persecution of The hospital's endowment consisted of farms to feed its patients and guests.

Colonial America

It is believed that the first Spanish style hospital founded in the Americas [Western Hemisphere] following Columbus arrival to the island now known as Hispaniola was the Hospital San Nicolás de Bari [Calle Hostos] in Santo Domingo, [Distrito Nacional] Dominican Republic.

Fray Nicolas de Ovando, Spanish governor and colonial administrator from 1502-1509, authorized its construction in or after 1504. It is believed that this hospital also served as a church during its lifetime. The first phase of its construction was completed in 1519. Erwin Walter Palm, [former author and professor of Spanish American art, culture, and history] wrote that "the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Conception continued the construction of the hospital in 1533, adding modern elements, including additional buildings. " Abandoned in the mid-18th century the hospital now lies in ruins near the Cathedral in the colonial zone in Santo Domingo, DR, amid additional historical New World sights.

The Hospital de Jesús Nazareno in Mexico City is the oldest hospital in North America. Hospital de Jesús Nazareno in Mexico City is the oldest Hospital in North America. Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico It was founded in 1524 with the economic support of conquistador Hernán Cortés to care for poor Spanish soldiers and the native inhabitants. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2,

The first hospital in North America north of Mexico is the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec. The Hotel-Dieu de Québec is a teaching hospital located in Quebec City Canada and affiliated with Université Laval 's medical school It was established in New France in 1639 by three Augustinians from l'Hôtel-Dieu de Dieppe in France. The Viceroyalty of New France (Nouvelle-France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430) are several Catholic Monastic orders and congregations The project of the niece of Cardinal de Richelieu was granted a royal charter by King Louis XIII and staffed by colonial physician Robert Giffard de Moncel. This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) Robert Giffard de Moncel (1587 - 1668 was a French Surgeon and Apothecary who became a prestigious Colonist and Businessman and eventually

Modern era

In Europe the medieval concept of Christian care evolved during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries into a secular one, but it was in the eighteenth century that the modern hospital began to appear, serving only medical needs and staffed with physicians and surgeons. The Charité (founded in Berlin in 1710) is an early example. The Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the Medical school for the Free University of Berlin and the Humboldt University of Berlin. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany.

Guy's Hospital was founded in London in 1724 from a bequest by wealthy merchant Thomas Guy. Guy's Hospital is a large NHS Hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Thomas Guy (1644-1724 was a British bookseller speculator and de facto founder of Guy's Hospital, London Early life Thomas Guy was born a son of a lighterman Other hospitals sprang up in London and other British cities over the century, many paid for by private subscriptions. In the British American colonies the Pennsylvania General Hospital was chartered in Philadelphia in 1751, after £2,000 from private subscription was matched by funds from the Assembly. Pennsylvania Hospital ("Pennsy" is a Hospital in Center City Philadelphia currently affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə ^[16]

When the Viennese General Hospital (Allgemeines Krankenhaus) opened in 1784 (instantly becoming the world's largest hospital), physicians acquired a new facility that gradually developed into the most important research center. The Vienna General Hospital (Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien ( AKH) is the University Clinic of the city of Vienna, Austria. During the 19th century, the Second Viennese Medical School emerged with the contributions of physicians such as Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Josef Škoda, Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra and Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis. Baron Carl von Rokitansky ( German: Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Czech: Karel Rokytanský) ( February 19, 1804 &ndash Josef Škoda ( 10 December, 1805 &ndash 13 June, 1881) was a Czech Physician, medical professor and Dermatologist Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra was an Austrian Physician and Dermatologist, ( September 7, 1816, in Brno, Moravia Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis ( July 1, 1818 &ndash August 13, 1865) also Ignac Semmelweis (born Semmelweis Ignác Fülöp Basic medical science expanded and specialization advanced. Furthermore, the first dermatology, eye, as well as ear, nose and throat clinics in the world were founded in Vienna, being considered was the birth of specialized medicine. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria.

By the mid-nineteenth century most of Europe and the United States had established a variety of public and private hospital systems. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar In Continental Europe the new hospitals were generally built and run from public funds. The National Health Service, the principle provider of healthcare in the United Kingdom, was founded in 1948. The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four Publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom collectively or individually (although

In the United States the traditional hospital is a non-profit hospital, usually sponsored by a religious denomination. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A non-profit hospital, or not-for-profit hospital is a Hospital which is organized as a Non-profit corporation. One of the earliest of these "almshouses" in what would become the United States was started by William Penn in Philadelphia in 1713. William Penn ( October 14, 1644 – July 30, 1718) was founder and "Absolute Proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə These hospitals are tax-exempt due to their charitable purpose, but provide only a minimum of charitable medical care. They are supplemented by large public hospitals in major cities and research hospitals often affiliated with a medical school. A public hospital is a Hospital which is owned by a Government and receives government funding In the late twentieth century, chains of for-profit hospitals arose in the USA. For-profit hospitals, or alternatively investor-owned hospitals are Investor -owned chains of Hospitals which have been established particularly in the United

Criticism

While hospitals, by concentrating equipment, skilled staff and other resources in one place, clearly provide important help to patients with serious or rare health problems, hospitals are also criticised for a number of faults, some of which are endemic to the system, others which develop from what some consider wrong approaches to health care.

One cricitism often voiced is the 'industrialised' nature of care, with constantly shifting treatment staff, which dehumanises the patient and prevents more effective care as doctors and nurses are rarely intimately familiar with the patient. The high working pressures often put on the staff exacerbates such rushed and impersonal treatment. The architecture and setup of modern hospitals is often voiced as a contributing factor to the feelings of faceless treatment many people complain about. ^[17]

Another criticism is that hospitals are in themselves a dangerous place for patients, which are often suffering from weakened immune systems - either due to their body having to undergo substantial surgery or because of the illness which placed them in the hospital itself. An immune system is a collection of mechanisms within an Organism that protects against Disease by identifying and killing Pathogens and Tumor As an example, it is estimated that as much as 10% of all patients in the United States contract a nosocomical (hospital-caused) infection. Nosocomial infections are Infections which are a result of treatment in a Hospital or a healthcare service unit but secondary to the patient's original condition ^[18] Due to the environment in which antibiotics are used in large quantities, the infections are also often multi-resistant to various treatment methods, such as the relatively common MRSA infection. In modern usage an antibiotic is a Chemotherapeutic agent with activity against Microorganisms such as Bacteria, fungi or Protozoa

Funding

In the modern era, hospitals are, broadly, either funded by the government of the country in which they are situated, or survive financially by competing in the private sector (a number of hospitals are also still supported by the historical type of charitable or religious associations).

In the United Kingdom for example, a relatively comprehensive, "free at the point of delivery" healthcare system exists, funded by the state. Hospital care is thus relatively easily available to all legal residents (although as hospitals prioritize their limited resources, there is a tendency for 'waiting lists' to be generated for non-emergency treatment, and those who can afford it may take out private healthcare to get treatment faster). ^[19] On the other hand, many countries, including for example the USA, have in the 20th Century followed a largely private-based, for-profit-approach to providing hospital care, with few state-money supported "charity" hospitals remaining today. A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to ^[20] Where for-profit hospitals in such countries admit uninsured patients in emergency situations (such as during and after the Hurricane Katrina in the USA), they incur direct financial losses,^[20] ensuring that there is a clear disincentive to admit such patients. Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States

While for-profit-based systems have produced some of the best hospitals in the world, a proportion of the populace may have little or no access to healthcare services of adequate quality.

As quality of healthcare has increasingly become an issue around the world, hospitals have increasingly had to pay serious attention to this. Independent external assessment of quality is one of the most powerful ways of assessing the quality of healthcare, and hospital accreditation is one means by which this is achieved. Hospital accreditation has been defined as “A self-assessment and external peer assessment process used by health care organisations to accurately assess their level of performance in In many parts of the world such accreditation is sourced from other countries, a phenomenon known as international healthcare accreditation, by groups such as the Joint Commission from the USA and the Trent Accreditation Scheme from Great Britain. Providing healthcare especially of an adequate standard is a complex and challenging process The Joint Commission is a private sector United States -based non-profit organization. The Trent Accreditation Scheme (TAS is a United Kingdom -based Non-profit organisation formed with a mission to maintain and continually evaluate standards of quality See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands

Buildings

Architecture

Modern hospital buildings are designed to minimize the effort of medical personnel and the possibility of contamination while maximizing the efficiency of the whole system. Travel time for personnel within the hospital and the transportation of patients between units is facilitated and minimized. The building also should be built to accommodate heavy departments such as radiology and operating rooms; while space for special wiring, plumbing and waste disposal must be allowed for in the design.

However, the reality is that many hospitals, even those considered 'modern', are the product of continual, and often badly managed growth over decades or even centuries, with utilitarian new sections added on as needs and finances dictate. As a result, Dutch architectural historian Cor Wagenaar has called many hospitals:

". . . built catastrophes, anonymous institutional complexes run by vast bureaucracies, and totally unfit for the purpose they have been designed for . . . They are hardly ever functional, and instead of making patients feel at home, they produce stress and anxiety. "^[21]

Some newer hospital designs now try to reestablish design that takes the patient's psychological needs into account, such as providing for more air, better views and more pleasant color schemes. These ideas harken back to the late 18th century, when the concept of providing fresh air and access to the 'healing powers of nature' were first employed by hospital architects in improving their buildings. ^[21]

Another major change which is still ongoing in many parts of the world is the change from a ward-based system (where patients are treated and accommodated in communal rooms, separated at best by movable partititions) to a room-based environment, where patients are accommodated in private rooms. The ward-based system has been described as very efficient, especially for the medical staff, but is considered to be more stressful for patients and detrimental to their privacy. A major constraint on providing all patients with their own rooms is however found in the higher cost of building and operating such a hospital, which causes some hospitals to charge for the privilege of private rooms. ^[22]

Infrastructure

The surgical, special procedures, radiological, intensive care unit, and patient rooms typically have medical gases, emergency and normal electrical power; and heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems. An intensive care unit (ICU critical care unit (CCU intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU is a specialized department used in

Electrical

The reliability of the electrical power systems that serve a hospital is important. In order to provide higher electrical reliability, the National Institutes of Health, NIH, requires that all secondary substations > 500 kVA at their Bethesda, MD campus be the spot network type. "NIH" redirects here For other meanings of NIH see NIH (disambiguation. An electrical substation is a subsidiary station of an Electricity generation, transmission and distribution system where Voltage The spot network substations cost more than other arrangements. In Electricity distribution networks spot network substations are used in interconnected distribution networks

Information

Pneumatic tube conveying systems are often used to move the actual paper prescriptions for medicines to the Pharmacies, and to move medicines, especially intra-venous, IV, bags to the patient care rooms. Pneumatic tubes (or capsule pipelines; Lamson tubes) are systems in which cylindrical containers are propelled through a network of tubes by Tissue samples can be sent to the Laboratory. Medical notes can be transcribed, printed, and then transported via a Pneumatic Tube Conveying System.

As measured by the weight of the item be transferred, the 15 cm (6”) diameter tube systems have about 225% of the lifting and moving capacity of a 10 cm (4”) system. When the seals are new, the 10 cm tube carriers will move a 1 kg (2+ pound) IV bag. But when the seals on the tube carriers are worn, the tubes can stop moving in the piping, and require a trained technician to recover the tube carrier.

Modern hospitals have information infrastructure such as secured patient information system and PACS.

References & Notes

• Morelon, Régis & Roshdi Rashed (1996), Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, vol. The Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science is a three-volume Encyclopedia covering the history of Arabic contributions to science, mathematics 3, Routledge, ISBN 0415124107

External links

• Jean Manco, The Heritage of Mercy (medieval hospitals in Britain)
• Last Resort: Hospital Care in Canada (an illustrated historical essay)
• Medieval Hospitals of England, by Rotha Mary Clay (1909 book, now in the public domain)
• Hospital Metrics and Scorecard

Routledge is a publisher of non-fiction academic books and journals

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