Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Encyclopedia
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston
, Massachusetts
is a major flagship teaching hospital
of Harvard Medical School
. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (founded in 1916) and New England Deaconess Hospital (founded in 1896). Among independent teaching hospitals, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center consistently ranks in the top four recipients of biomedical research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Research funding totals nearly $200 million annually. BIDMC researchers run more than 850 active sponsored projects and 200 clinical trials. The Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center, the nation's oldest clinical research laboratory, has been located on this site since 1973. It also has some of the most competitive residency and fellowship programs in the country.
, BIDMC is the flagship hospital of the Caregroup Healthcare System of Massachusetts and is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the US by U.S. News & World Report
. One of the largest hospitals in New England
and is affiliated with world's leading Joslin Diabetes Center
and member of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
the largest cancer institution in the country. The hospital is part of the Boston MedFlight
consortium and supports a Level I trauma center through the use of its rooftop helipad
.
BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox
. The most recent President and CEO of BIDMC was Paul F. Levy
, who assumed the role in early January 2002. He was one of very few hospital CEOs to write a blog, called Running a Hospital. He left his role at the BIDMC to pursue other ventures early in 2011, his blog continued as Not Running a Hospital.
BIDMC announced on September 6th 2011 that their new President and CEO would be Kevin Tabb, MD., who last served as Chief Medical Officer at Standford Hospital & Clinics in Stanford, California. Dr. Tabb started his new position on October 17th, 2011.
On October 3, 2011 Becker's Hospital Review Listed BIDMC under 70 Hospitals With Great Cardiology Programs.
. Deaconess had a leading role in the early studies of the cause, course and treatment of AIDS. Deaconess was also a pioneer in organ transplantation and immunological research.
During an era of religious separatism, Boston's Jewish community founded Beth Israel Hospital in 1916 to meet the needs of the growing Jewish immigrant population. Its first hospital on Townsend Street in Roxbury held 45-beds. The new hospital addressed the needs of immigrants who spoke Yiddish without speaking English and for patients who kept a kosher diet. In 1928, Beth Israel established relationships with Tufts University
and the Harvard Medical School
and relocated to a new facility in the Longwood area of Boston. During the Depression, Beth Israel was one of only two hospitals in Boston that treated welfare recipients. Researchers at Beth Israel discovered Vascular endothelial growth factor
(VEGF) in 1983.
The two neighboring hospitals merged in 1996, continuing the patient care, educational and research components of both predecessors. In 2003, BIDMC researchers identified the source of preeclampsia, a life-threatening complication of pregnancy.
The merger coincided with the completion of the ten-story Clinical Center (at the corner of Brookline and Longwood Avenues, in space formerly occupied by the Massachusetts College of Art
), which houses most of the hospital's outpatient services. The East Campus is located at 330 Brookline Avenue in the Longwood Medical Area.
The nation's oldest clinical research laboratory, the Harvard-Thorndike Laboratory, has been in this site since 1973.
The West Campus is nearly diagonally across the street, at 1 Deaconess Road. A number of other non-clinical, administrative offices (e.g. payroll, accounts payable, telecommunications) are located offsite in offices scattered throughout the area.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
is a major flagship teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
of Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (founded in 1916) and New England Deaconess Hospital (founded in 1896). Among independent teaching hospitals, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center consistently ranks in the top four recipients of biomedical research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Research funding totals nearly $200 million annually. BIDMC researchers run more than 850 active sponsored projects and 200 clinical trials. The Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center, the nation's oldest clinical research laboratory, has been located on this site since 1973. It also has some of the most competitive residency and fellowship programs in the country.
Overview
Located in the Longwood Medical and Academic AreaLongwood Medical and Academic Area
The Longwood Medical and Academic Area is a medical campus in Boston....
, BIDMC is the flagship hospital of the Caregroup Healthcare System of Massachusetts and is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the US by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
. One of the largest hospitals in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and is affiliated with world's leading Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center is the world’s largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Among the Harvard Medical School Affiliated institutions, Joslin is unique in its sole...
and member of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
The Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center is the largest National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the nation. Founded in 1998, DF/HCC is an inter-institutional research enterprise that unites all of the cancer research efforts of the Harvard affiliated community...
the largest cancer institution in the country. The hospital is part of the Boston MedFlight
Boston MedFlight
Boston MedFlight is a non-profit organization that provides emergency scene response and emergent interfacility transfer in Eastern Massachusetts...
consortium and supports a Level I trauma center through the use of its rooftop helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
.
BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. The most recent President and CEO of BIDMC was Paul F. Levy
Paul F. Levy
Paul F. Levy is the former President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a resident of Newton, Massachusetts....
, who assumed the role in early January 2002. He was one of very few hospital CEOs to write a blog, called Running a Hospital. He left his role at the BIDMC to pursue other ventures early in 2011, his blog continued as Not Running a Hospital.
BIDMC announced on September 6th 2011 that their new President and CEO would be Kevin Tabb, MD., who last served as Chief Medical Officer at Standford Hospital & Clinics in Stanford, California. Dr. Tabb started his new position on October 17th, 2011.
On October 3, 2011 Becker's Hospital Review Listed BIDMC under 70 Hospitals With Great Cardiology Programs.
History
New England Deaconess Hospital was founded In 1896 by Methodist Deaconesses to care for Boston's residents. The Methodist Deaconess movement, which started in Germany in 1836, was a group of women dedicating themselves to the care of the sick and the poor. The first 14-bed infirmary was opened in a converted five-story brownstone at 691 Massachusetts Avenue. Although the hospital was originally staffed by the Deaconesses, in 1922 it added a permanent medical and surgical staff. In 1927, the New England Deaconess Association opened the Palmer Memorial Hospital, a cancer treatment facility. At the time, few Boston hospitals accepted patients with incurable cancer. During the 1960s, Deaconess' residency programs gained accreditation and it affiliated with Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. Deaconess had a leading role in the early studies of the cause, course and treatment of AIDS. Deaconess was also a pioneer in organ transplantation and immunological research.
During an era of religious separatism, Boston's Jewish community founded Beth Israel Hospital in 1916 to meet the needs of the growing Jewish immigrant population. Its first hospital on Townsend Street in Roxbury held 45-beds. The new hospital addressed the needs of immigrants who spoke Yiddish without speaking English and for patients who kept a kosher diet. In 1928, Beth Israel established relationships with Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
and the Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
and relocated to a new facility in the Longwood area of Boston. During the Depression, Beth Israel was one of only two hospitals in Boston that treated welfare recipients. Researchers at Beth Israel discovered Vascular endothelial growth factor
Vascular endothelial growth factor
Vascular endothelial growth factor is a signal protein produced by cells that stimulates vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. It is part of the system that restores the oxygen supply to tissues when blood circulation is inadequate....
(VEGF) in 1983.
The two neighboring hospitals merged in 1996, continuing the patient care, educational and research components of both predecessors. In 2003, BIDMC researchers identified the source of preeclampsia, a life-threatening complication of pregnancy.
Structure
Since the merger, the hospital consists of two campuses, the East (former Beth Israel) and the West (former Deaconess). The East Campus retained most primary care, outpatient, clinical and administrative functions, while the emergency department, inpatient care, the department of human resources, and many specialists are located on the West Campus.The merger coincided with the completion of the ten-story Clinical Center (at the corner of Brookline and Longwood Avenues, in space formerly occupied by the Massachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a publicly-funded college of visual and applied art, founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest art schools, the only publicly-funded free-standing art school in the United States, and was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree...
), which houses most of the hospital's outpatient services. The East Campus is located at 330 Brookline Avenue in the Longwood Medical Area.
The nation's oldest clinical research laboratory, the Harvard-Thorndike Laboratory, has been in this site since 1973.
The West Campus is nearly diagonally across the street, at 1 Deaconess Road. A number of other non-clinical, administrative offices (e.g. payroll, accounts payable, telecommunications) are located offsite in offices scattered throughout the area.
Major Affiliates
- One of the three major teaching hospitalTeaching hospitalA teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
s of Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.... - Affiliated with Joslin Diabetes CenterJoslin Diabetes CenterJoslin Diabetes Center is the world’s largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Among the Harvard Medical School Affiliated institutions, Joslin is unique in its sole...
- Research partner of the Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteDana-Farber Cancer InstituteDana–Farber Cancer Institute is part of a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. It is a major affiliate of Harvard Medical School and is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts.-Overview:...
- Member Institution of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer CenterDana-Farber/Harvard Cancer CenterThe Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center is the largest National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the nation. Founded in 1998, DF/HCC is an inter-institutional research enterprise that unites all of the cancer research efforts of the Harvard affiliated community...
- Level I trauma centerTrauma centerA trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers grew into existence out of the realization that traumatic injury is a disease process unto itself requiring specialized and experienced...
verified by the American College of Surgeons. - Part of the consortium of hospitals which operates Boston MedFlightBoston MedFlightBoston MedFlight is a non-profit organization that provides emergency scene response and emergent interfacility transfer in Eastern Massachusetts...
. - In 2003 the institution formed a partnership with the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, becoming the official hospital of the team - BIDMC serves as the official U.S. sister hospital to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon
Notable faculty and alumni
- Paul ZollPaul ZollPaul Maurice Zoll was a cardiologist and one of the pioneers in the development of the cardiac pacemaker and cardiac defibrillator.-External links:*...
, first to describe technique of electrical cardioversion in humans. Eponym for the Zoll defibrillator. - Roderick MacKinnonRoderick MacKinnonRoderick MacKinnon is a professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Peter Agre in 2003 for his work on the structure and operation of ion channels....
, 2003 Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
"for structural and mechanistic studies of ion channels" - Stephen Bergman, aka Samuel Shem, author of The House of GodThe House of GodThe House of God is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem , published in 1978. It portrays the psychological harm done to medical interns during the course of medical internship in the early 1970s.-Storyline:...
- Mark JosephsonMark JosephsonMark E. Josephson, M.D., is an American cardiologist and writer and was in the 1970s one of the American pioneers of the medical cardiology subspecialty of cardiac electrophysiology. His classic text, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology: Techniques and Interpretations, is widely acknowledged the...
, chairman of cardiology, one of the most influential figures in the history of electrophysiology - Joel Mark NoeJoel Mark NoeJoel Noe , MD, FACS, was a pioneering plastic surgeon at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts who founded one of the nation's first burn units and argon laser programs...
, MD, pioneering reconstructive plastic surgeon, in 1977 created burn unit and argon laser program - Jack RoweJack RoweJohn Charles "Jack" Rowe was an American baseball player.Rowe was born in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, in 1911. He first played baseball under Tom Loftus with the Peoria Reds in 1878. In 1879, Rowe and his brother, Dave Rowe, signed with the Rockford team in the newly formed Northwestern League...
, former chief of geriatrics, CEO of AetnaAetnaAetna, Inc. is an American health insurance company, providing a range of traditional and consumer directed health care insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care, and disability plans, and medical management... - Jerome GroopmanJerome GroopmanJerome Groopman has been a staff writer in medicine and biology for The New Yorker since 1998. He is also the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and author of five books, all written for a...
, chief of experimental medicine, author of Anatomy of HopeAnatomy of HopeThe Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness is the third book by author Dr. Jerome Groopman, published in 2004 by Random House.-Adaptation:...
, How Doctors ThinkHow Doctors ThinkHow Doctors Think is a book released in March 2007 by Jerome Groopman, the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of experimental medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.The book opens with a... - James B. Aguayo-MartelJames B. Aguayo-MartelJames Benjamin Martel is a physician, surgeon and scientist. He is Chair of Surgery, Mercy San Juan Medical Center, Chief of Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology , and Plastic Surgery, Sutter Roseville Medical Center...
MD MPH, developer of MR microscopy and deuterium spectroscopy. - Alvaro Pascual-LeoneAlvaro Pascual-LeoneAlvaro Pascual-Leone is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, with which he has been affiliated since 1997. He is the Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation and Program Director of the Harvard-Thorndike Clinical Research Center of the Beth Israel...
, MD, PhD, noted neuroscientist and one of the pioneers in the use of transcranial magnetic stimulationTranscranial magnetic stimulationTranscranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive method to cause depolarization or hyperpolarization in the neurons of the brain... - Sanjiv ChopraSanjiv ChopraSanjiv Chopra, M.D., MACP is Professor of Medicine and Faculty Dean for Continuing Medical Education at Harvard Medical School, and Senior Consultant in Hepatology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts....
,MD, MACP, Professor of Medicine and Faculty Dean for Continuing Medical Education at Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, and Senior Consultant in HepatologyHepatologyHepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates the study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree, and pancreas as well as management of their disorders. Etymologically the word Hepatology is formed of ancient Greek hepar or hepato- meaning ' liver' and suffix -logia meaning 'word' or 'speech'...
at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center