History, Awards & Accomplishments

While many people associate The Jewish Hospital with its current location in Kenwood, others are more familiar with The Jewish Hospital’s former location on Burnet Avenue in Avondale. Founded as The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, the hospital moved to its Burnet location in 1888, where it stayed for 109 years. In 1988, The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati acquired the Otto C. Epp Memorial Hospital in Kenwood and converted it to The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood. From 1988 until 1997, The Jewish Hospital existed in two locations: The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, on Burnet, and The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood. In 1997, The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati closed and transferred most of its services to The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood to better serve Cincinnati’s suburban population. This hospital is now known as The Jewish Hospital.

Read on for information on Jewish Hospital’s history and its commitment to the field of cardiovascular medicine.

1850

A committee of Jewish laymen establish The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati in a one-story building at the corner of what are now Central Avenue and Bauer Street downtown. It is the first Jewish hospital founded in the United States.

1888 - 1890

In 1888 The Jewish Hospital purchases land from the Home for Jewish Aged and Infirm on the corner of Burnet Avenue and Union Street in Avondale, and begins building a new hospital adjacent to the Home. This new hospital, which is dedicated in 1890, is considered the most modern and best-equipped hospital in Cincinnati. It boasts Cincinnati’s first modern operating room, featuring a steam sterilization apparatus. This move to a suburban location gave The Jewish Hospital the opportunity to grow in size and scope of medical care and to provide better care for the aged and chronically ill.

1895

The Medical Staff appoints the first intern to serve The Jewish Hospital, enhancing its capacity as a teaching institution.

1927

The American College of Surgeons declares that The Jewish Hospital is one of the few to meet its standards, based on its survey. This survey of the American College of Surgeons is a forerunner of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals’ (JCAHO) survey.

1928

The Jewish Hospital establishes a heart clinic to provide services to the indigent.

1933

The Jewish Hospital’s capacity as a teaching institution is expanded as the American Medical Association approves the hospital for residencies in medicine and surgery.

1934

A cardiovascular research library is established.

1954

The Jewish Hospital is one of three hospitals in Greater Cincinnati to be selected to become a district hospital. A district hospital is a hospital that offers care in the four basic services, including medicine, surgery, obstetrics and pediatrics; dental service with all special branches of dental care and that provides training for interns and resident physicians.

The Jewish Hospital receives “full approval” from the first JCAHO survey.

1969

The Jewish Hospital performs its first open-heart surgery.

1978

The Peripheral Vascular Laboratory is opened.

1980

The Jewish Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit opens, providing the city’s first complete three-phase cardiac service.

1987

With the addition of the cardiac catheterization system and a second cardiac catheterization laboratory, The Jewish Hospital maintains the most advanced equipment for invasive cardiac imaging available in Greater Cincinnati.

The Cholesterol Center is established at The Jewish Hospital. Now an internationally-renowned program for the research and treatment of diseases and disorders associated with cholesterol, the Cholesterol Center treats patients from all over the world.

1988

The Jewish Hospital acquires the suburban Otto C. Epp Memorial Hospital and converts it to The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood. From this year until 1997, there are two Jewish Hospitals: The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, on Burnet, and The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood.

1994

Construction and renovations begin on The Jewish Hospital Kenwood facility so The Jewish Hospital can deliver services more efficiently and continue offering high quality care.

1995

The Jewish Hospital Kenwood is dedicated after completing Phase 1 of construction and renovations. At the dedication, a mezuzah is placed on the door, symbolizing the Jewish heritage of the hospital. The new facilities and amenities at The Jewish Hospital Kenwood include maternity and nursery facilities, an imaging services department, a new main lobby and gift shop, an ambulatory care center, family lounges and a state-of-the-art surgical suite, which includes four operation rooms equipped for open-heart surgery.

1996

The Jewish Hospital joins the Health Alliance.

Major tertiary services, such as cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery and oncology are relocated from The Jewish Hospital on Burnet Avenue to The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood.

The renovated emergency department opens at The Jewish Hospital Kenwood, showcasing a new entrance and lobby and providing more exam rooms and more efficient emergency facilities.

1997

The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati on Burnet Avenue closes, and most of its services are transferred to The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood where they can help suburban residents more efficiently.

The newly constructed Patient Tower opens at The Jewish Hospital in Kenwood to house the patient services of The Jewish Hospital.

In an accomplishment unmatched by any other hospital in Greater Cincinnati, The Jewish Hospital receives a third consecutive “accreditation with commendation” from the JCAHO.

1998

The Jewish Hospital Cholesterol Center pioneers work in the successful treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome, one of the biggest causes of infertility in the nation, with Metformin, a safe new drug.

The Jewish Hospital, Southwestern Ohio’s first hospital to perform open-heart surgery in a suburban location, performs its 1000th open-heart procedure since moving the service to Kenwood.

1999

The Jewish Hospital is recognized as one of the top 100 hospitals in the United States for cardiac bypass surgery by the HCIA, Inc., a leading health care information content company. The Jewish Hospital’s cardiac services are also recognized locally, as the hospital receives a Mercury Award.

2000

The Jewish Hospital echocardiography lab was granted accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL). The laboratory is one of the first two hundred echocardiography laboratories in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico to be so recognized for its commitment to high quality patient care and its provision of quality diagnostic testing.

2001

The Health Alliance is now using the nation’s largest cardiovascular information system. All of the hospital now have standardized capabilities resulting from the installation of the nation’s largest cardiovascular information system. The state-of-the-art system, VERICIS Cardiology Integrated Cardiovascular Repository, was developed by Camtronics Medical Systems. It is the first cardiovascular information system in the United States that has the ability to display test results from both cardiac cath labs and echo labs simultaneously.

2002

The pet therapy program starts. Volunteers bring their trained, certified dogs in for visits to inpatients to relieve stress and boredom.

2003

Results of a recently conducted study at The Jewish Hospital suggest that a nasal ointment called Bactroban can reduce the rate of deep sternal wound infections after open-heart surgery.

2004

The Jewish Hospital received accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL) in recognition of its commitment to providing a high level of patient care and quality testing for the diagnosis of vascular disease.

2005

The Jewish Hospital emergency department led a national clinical trial to determine if a blood test performed at the patient's bedside will lead to a quicker diagnosis and faster treatment for heart attack victims.

The Jewish Hospital became the first in the Tristate and the fifth site in the United States to install a unique set of cardiac catheterization lab technologies. The lab features the revolutionary Allura Xper FD20 imaging system, a complete cardiovascular X-ray lab used for a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

The Jewish Hospital completed renovations to expand its emergency department. With the new construction, the emergency department now spans the length of the hospital along Kenwood Rd., and adds five additional beds, raising the total to 24 monitored beds.

The Jewish Hospital awarded Program Certification for its Cardiac Rehabilitation Program by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). Certification recognizes those programs rigorously reviewed by a national board and found to meet the outlined essential requirements for standards of care.

The Jewish Hospital was named one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S. by Solucient.

2006

Jewish becomes the first hospital in the area to have a chaplain, rabbi and priest on staff to meet the spiritual care needs of patients.

2007

On January 1, Jewish joins most other Greater Cincinnati hospitals in making their entire campus tobacco-free. The use of cigarettes and tobacco products is prohibited from anywhere on the hospital’s buildings or grounds.