Orient Hospital
Encyclopedia
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
non-profit hospital located in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and maintained for the care of low-income patients. It was founded in 1947 by Dr. Sami Ibrahim Haddad
Sami Ibrahim Haddad
Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Arabic: سامي ابراهيم حداد was a doctor, surgeon and writer. He was born in Palestine and spent most of his life in Lebanon.-Life:...
, a well-known physician and historian of medicine.
Location and description
The 54-bed hospital overlooked Saint George BaySaint George Bay
The Saint George Bay is located on the northern coast of the city of Beirut in Lebanon. The Saint George Bay is believed to be the place where Saint George slew the dragon. Today the bay houses Beirut's western marina and extends to the north until the marina of Dbayeh...
in Beirut. The main structure was a renovated five-story building with a newly-built annex for nurses. The ground floor consisted of admissions, a reception hall enclosed by consultation offices, a medical laboratory and an OPD. The second floor was devoted to surgical beds and the third floor housed the medical patients. The fourth floor consisted of a single operating theater and its sterilizing equipment as well as an adjacent 50-seat lecture hall. The fifth floor, surrounded by a terrace, served as living quarters for interns.
The hospital had four departments, urology and urosurgery, neuro-surgery, obstetrics and radiology. External specialists were allowed to admit and operate upon their patients at the hospital.
It also had a superlative library containing a great number of manuscripts on a wide range of subjects such as Arabic medicine, biology, religion, numismatics, history, literature and Arabic geometry and astronomy. The collection, including the Annual Reports of the Orient Hospital, is now in the Sami Ibrahim Haddad Memorial Library.
Final years
The hospital was run and administered by its founder, Sami Ibrahim Haddad, until his death in 1957 and then by his sons, Dr. Farid Sami Haddad and Dr.Fuad Sami Haddad. The Orient Hospital closed its doors in 1976 at the beginning of the Lebanese Civil WarLebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
. It was later demolished by its owners to prevent gunmen occupying it, as it was in the heavily fought over area of downtown Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
.