1. History of Hospitals
By:
Radwa Ibrahim Eltahawi

2. DEFINITION
OF TERMS

3.  A hospital is defined as a room,
rooms or building specifically
employed for the investigation
and continued treatment of the
diseased. (Woodhead 1952:245).
3

4.  The words hospital, hôtel, spital
and hospice are all derived from
the Latin word hospitium
meaning “a place of
entertainment for strangers, a
lodging, an inn, a guest-
chamber” (Lewis & Short
1958:867).
4

5.  During the Golden Age of Islam
(9th-13th centuries) the Persian
word bimaristan denoted
hospital, while maristan referred
to an institution for the insane
(Major 1954:229; Porter 1997:105).
5

6. EARLIEST
TIMES

7.  The earliest hospitals known to us may
have been in ancient Mesopotamia.
 Reiner (1964) presents evidence that
royal physicians at Assyrian and
Babylonian courts towards the end of
the 2nd millennium BC, cared for ill
court singers in what were probably
elementary hospitals or nursing
homes.
7

8.  Classical sources also refer to possible
hospitals in the Hellenistic Age
attached to the Egyptian temples for
Saturn in places like Heliopolis,
Memphis and Thebes.
 However, this probably denoted
sleeping accommodation in temple
precincts, rather like that associated
with the Asclepian cult (Aitken 1984).
8

9.  The Buddhist religion with its roots
in 6th century BC India led to the
creation of a monastic system, which,
as with subsequent Christianity, gave
rise to institutionalized health care
facilities in and around these
monasteries as early as the 5th
century BC.
9

10.  The nursing profession may also
have originated here (5th century
BC), and we are told that Sri Lankan
hospitals date back to 431 BC.
10

11.  Sri Lankans are responsible for
introducing the concept of dedicated
hospitals to the world.
 The ancient Chronicle of Sinhalese
Royalty written in 6th century A.D,
King Pandukabhaya had lying in
homes and hospitals built in various
parts of the country.
11

12.  Mihintale Hospital is perhaps the
oldest one in the world. King Ashoks
founded 18 hospitals in 230 B.C.
 These were state supported hospitals.
The first teaching hospital was the
Academy of Gundishapur in the
Persian Empire.
12

13.  In the early period, during Greek and
Roman Civilization the temples were
used as hospitals and these hospitals
were integral part of the temples.
13

14. Reconstruction of the
Asclepieum on the Tiber island
14

15. Hospitals in Islam
15

16.  Islam developed its own impressive
hospitals (bimaristans) at Cordoba,
Baghdad, Damascus, Bokhara, Sevilla
and Cairo.
 A total of 34 major ones have been
identified. Tudela, who visited
Baghdad in 1160, wrote that there
were 60 hospitals in that city and 50
in Cordoba.
16

17.  The greatest and most magnificent
was the Mansuri hospital in Cairo
(completed in 1284).
 This self-contained institution had
four great courts, each with a water
fountain in the center, separate wards
for men and women and for
different diseases, a dispensary,
lecture halls, and an out-patient
department, a chapel and library.
17

18. 18

19.  Fever wards were cooled by
fountains. Musicians and storytellers
entertained the sick, and on
discharge each patient received a
sum of money sufficient to pay for
immediate expenses until he could
resume work.
19

20.  Possibly the first mental hospital for the insane (a maristan) in
Europe was built by Islam in Granada in 1365.
20

21.  The hospitals at Cordoba, Baghdad,
Damascus and Cairo in particular,
also served as centers of medical
education, attracting students from
Europe and the Far East,
21

22. Hospitals in Europe & US
22

23.  Some of the notable hospitals
established in Europe date back to
ancient times.
 The earliest Hospital was founded at
Hotel Dieu, Paris in 542 AD. St
Bartholomew’s hospital London
dates back to 1123 AD.
23

24.  In 1524, Spanish built the first
hospital in Mexico. The first general
hospital opened in 1751 in North
America as Pennsylvania hospital.
 Thereafter, Bellevue Hospital in New
York in 1736 and Massachusetts
Hospital in 1811 AD.
24

25.  By the mid 19th Century most of the
Europe and United States had
established a number of public and
privet hospital systems.
 In Continental Europe, the new
hospitals were generally built and
run by public funds.
25

26.  In the United Kingdom, the hospital
sector is dominated by National
Health Service. In the United States,
the traditional hospital is a nonprofit
hospital. In the late 20th Century, the
concept of nonprofit hospital was
switched over to chains of for profit
hospital.
26

27.  The first hospital in USA was
founded in 1751, the Pennsylvania
Hospital. Rapid growth in the field of
hospital occurred in between 1860 to
1920; however the number reached
to its peak to 7370 in 1924.
27

28.  The main reason to the growth of the
hospital can be credited to the rapid
advancement in the field of
medicine. During 19th century,
allopathic medicine was only one of
many theories of the disease
causation and cure.
28

29.  Before 1900, most of the hospital was
proprietary, in a significant
development. The john Hopkins
University Medical School was
founded. Emergence of nursing as a
profession and change in society’s
attitude towards hospital shaped the
role of hospital in patient care
further.
29

30.  Florence Nightingale was
instrumental in these changes. First
three schools of Nursing in United
States were established in 1973.
Improvement in society’s attitude
towards acute care hospitals occurred
slowly.
30

31.  The increasing average size of the
hospitals improved the
comprehensiveness and quality of
medical care The American College
of Surgeons (ACS) was constituted in
1913. The ACS developed standards
for hospital “Hospital standardization
Program” in 1918, for approval.
31

32.  The general and acute care hospitals
established during the period were
mainly from private and voluntary
action during Second World War.
The number of hospital increased
significantly.
32

33.  During 1970, hospitals were included
under federa labor legislation in USA.
The hospital in the present era is now
not only high-tech, but also
operating from remote places like
tale surgery and tale medicines.
33

34.  The hospital not only providing care
and comfort to patient, but also to
the visitors, attendants of patients.
34

35.  We are moving one step further to
medical tourism The hospitals have
grown from the time of free
treatment, fee for service to profit
making organization, trying to
compete with any corporate sector.
35

36. Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at
@radwa_eltahawi
& radwa.ibrahim87@gmail.com
36