University of Cincinnati Health


UC Health is the healthcare system of the University of Cincinnati, in Cincinnati, Ohio. It trains health care professionals and provides research and patient care. The system is affiliated with the University via the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.
Most of the system's facilities are spread among two major campuses in the Cincinnati metropolitan area: the Clifton campus, home to the flagship University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and the West Chester campus, home to West Chester Hospital. There are also locations in Florence, Kentucky, and other Ohio communities.

History

Early History (1819-1823)

Physician Daniel Drake founded the Medical College of Ohio, the precursor to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, in 1819. It was the first medical school west of the Allegheny Mountains. Originally located in a room above a drugstore, the college graduated its first class of 24 students in 1821.

Early Hospitals (1823-1869)

Also in 1821, Drake brought a proposal to the Ohio legislature, which approved a hospital and asylum for Cincinnati with the medical department operated by the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio. The hospital, the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum opened in 1823 at the present-day corner of 12th and Elm as a three-story brick facility that also served as an infirmary, poorhouse, and orphanage, housing roughly 250. An annex for the asylum was finished in 1827.
By 1861, the hospital was officially recognized as the Commercial Hospital of Cincinnati. By 1865, the building was ill equipped to handle the demands prompting the building of a new hospital on the existing site in 1869. This hospital was named the Cincinnati Hospital.
In 1915, a new structure was built by the city and the hospital was renamed Cincinnati General Hospital.
In honor of the late Dr. Christian R. Holmes, Holmes Hospital was officially opened and dedicated in 1929. Holmes Hospital was a private facility in connection with Cincinnati General Hospital where doctors from the General Hospital and College of Medicine could see their private patients. It gradually transitioned into what is now part of UC Health.

Integration with the University (1870-1977)

A municipally owned college for most of its history, the University of Cincinnati became a state university on July 1, 1977. In 1982, its teaching hospital, which had been known as the General Hospital and in its present location since 1915, was renamed the University of Cincinnati Hospital. It was later renamed University Hospital, and in 2012 was renamed again as University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Academic Health Center and UC Health (1980s-Present)

The medical school and health colleges had been referred to as the "University of Cincinnati Medical Center" from the early 1980s until 2005. In 2000 a fourth College, the College of Allied Health Sciences joined the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. In 2005, the name was changed from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center to the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center. In 2010, the Academic Health Center became part of the newly formed UC Health organization.
UC Health was formed after the dissolution of the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, which had operated the University of Cincinnati Medical Center from 1994 to 2010 and also operated West Chester Hospital starting in 2009. The 2010 dissolution of the alliance left the University with 100% ownership so the alliance was renamed to UC Health and placed under a parent company named UC Healthcare System.

Pharmacy

Cincinnati College of Pharmacy was established as the first pharmacy college west of the Alleghenies in 1850. It operated independently until 1954, then integrated into the University of Cincinnati in 1954. In 1967, the College of Pharmacy became a unit of the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center. On June 6, 2007, the College of Pharmacy changed its name to the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, for alumnus Jim Winkle. The college is only the second in UC's history to be named to honor a supporter.

Public Health and Clinical “Firsts”

Cincinnati’s medical institutions achieved several national milestones in healthcare delivery:
  • 1865: Launch of the United States’ first ambulance service.
  • 1875: Establishment of the first American professorship in laryngology.
  • 1916: UC College of Nursing became the first in the U.S. to grant a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
  • 1938 – Hoxworth Blood Center founded—one of America’s first community blood banks.
  • 1940 – American Diabetes Association founded and led by UC internist Cecil Striker, MD.
  • 1970: UC established the nation’s first residency program in emergency medicine.
  • 1984: Launch of Air Care, one of the earliest hospital-based helicopter transport programs in the country.

    Notable Achievements

Researchers and clinicians affiliated with the university have contributed numerous medical firsts and landmark discoveries:
  • Heart–lung machine : Three UC faculty members developed the world’s first functional heart–lung machine, making open-heart surgery possible.
  • Fogarty heart catheter: A major advance in vascular surgery pioneered at UC during Dr. Thomas Fogarty's fellowship training.
  • Benadryl : Discovered by UC chemist George Rieveschl, Benadryl became the world’s first antihistamine.
  • Polio vaccine: 'Albert Sabin developed the first live, attenuated oral polio vaccine while working jointly at UC and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, saving millions worldwide.
Other significant contributions include definitive research on lead exposure in children, creation of one of the nation’s first hematology–oncology divisions, and establishment of pioneering laboratories in medical laser surgery and neurosurgical innovation'.

Facilities

UC Health has locations throughout Cincinnati, West Chester, and Northern Kentucky, many of which are in the Pill Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati. Locations include:
  • 7759 University Drive
  • 7777 University Drive
  • 7798 Discovery Drive
  • Anderson Building
  • Barrett Building, home to the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center
  • Blood Cancer Healing Center
  • Bridgeway Pointe
  • Clifton Physicians Office Building
  • Dental Center
  • East Building
  • Elizabeth Place
  • Florence Building
  • Holmes Building
  • Hoxworth Center
  • Liberty Township Building
  • Lindner Center of HOPE
  • Mason Building
  • Midtown Building
  • Milford Building
  • Montgomery Building
  • North Building
  • Proton Therapy Center
  • Radiotherapy
  • Ridgeway Tower
  • Rookwood Tower
  • Sleep Medicine Center
  • South Building
  • Surgical Center
  • Timothy Freeman, MD, Center for Developmental Disabilities
  • Trenton Building
  • Tri-County Building
  • University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute
  • UC Medical Center
  • UC Medical Center Emergency Department
  • Varsity Village Imaging Center
  • West Building
  • West Chester Hospital
  • West Chester Hospital Emergency Center
  • White Oak Building
  • Wyoming Primary Care

    Academic Health Center

The AHC includes four colleges, as well as specialized centers:
  • College of Allied Health Sciences
  • College of Medicine
  • College of Nursing
  • James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy
  • Hoxworth Blood Center
  • Metabolic Diseases Institute
  • Cincinnati Diabetes and Obesity Center
  • UC Cancer Institute
  • UC Neuroscience Institute
  • UC Heart, Lung and Vascular Institute

    Partners and affiliates

AHC partners with many other health care institutions.
  • The Christ Hospital
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
  • Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center
  • Good Samaritan Hospital
  • The Jewish Hospital
  • Mayfield Clinic
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children—Cincinnati

    College of Allied Health Sciences

The College of Allied Health Sciences provides education for allied health and health science professionals. CAHS became a college at the University of Cincinnati in March 1998. Its programs originated from various colleges at the University of Cincinnati.

Majors and programs

  • Doctoral
  • *Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • **Audiology
  • *Physical Therapy
  • Master's
  • *Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • **Speech-language Pathology
  • *Genetic Counseling
  • *Health Administration
  • *Nutrition Sciences
  • *Transfusion and Transplantation Services
  • Bachelor's
  • *Advanced Medical Imaging Technology
  • *Clinical Laboratory Science
  • *Clinical Laboratory Science – Distance Learning
  • *Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • *Dietetics
  • *Food and Nutrition
  • **Concentration in Exercise Science
  • **Concentration in Pre-Medicine
  • *Health Information Management – Distance Learning
  • *Health Sciences
  • **Sports and Biomechanics Concentration
  • **Exercise Science Concentration
  • Certificate
  • *Clinical Laboratory Science
  • *Dietetics
School of Social Work
  • Social Work

    College of Medicine

The College of Medicine was established by Daniel Drake in 1819 as the Medical College of Ohio, which was the first college of medicine established in the state of Ohio. It became a part of the University of Cincinnati in 1896 and is considered by some historians to be the oldest medical school west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is supposedly the second-oldest public college of medicine in the United States.
Other accomplishments include the development of the heart-lung machine, the Fogarty heart catheter, Benadryl, and the Clark oxygen electrode. The college also established the nation's first residency program in emergency medicine. The college is noted for its neurosurgical research into degenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Ranked in the top one-third of American medical schools, the college attracts students from across the United States. In 2008, it became the first medical college in the country to implement the multiple mini interview system pioneered in Canada to better predict candidates with exceptional interpersonal skills, professionalism and ethical judgment. Other medical schools have since adopted the process. In addition to the usual application pathways, the University of Cincinnati offers a dual-admissions program known as Connections to high school students applying for undergraduate studies at the university where students are guaranteed admission to the school if they acquire the required grade point average and MCAT scores. The college attracts many undergraduate students to its summer research fellowships.
A curriculum revision effort involving more clinical instruction in the first two years of medical school was unveiled for the entering class of 2011.
In conjunction with the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the college also sponsors 56 accredited residency and fellowship training programs through the Office of Graduate Medical Education.