Lincoln Hospital

Infobox Hospital
Name = Lincoln Hospital
Org/Group = New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation


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Location = 234 East 149th Street
Region = Bronx
State = New York
Country = US
Coordinates = coord|40.8070453|-73.9098589|display=inline,title
HealthCare = Public
Type = Full Service Medical Center & Teaching Hospital
Speciality =
Standards =
Emergency = Level I Trauma Center
Affiliation = Downtown Bronx Medical Association
Beds = 342
Founded = 1839
Closed =
Website = http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/facilities/lincoln.shtml
Wiki-Links = |

Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, founded in 1839, is - tightly woven into the fabric of community life in the South Bronx region of New York City, aggressively tackling many important community health issues such as asthma, obesity, cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis.cite web
url= http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/facilities/lincoln.shtml
title= HHC - Lincoln Medical And Mental Health Center
accessdate= 2008-01-14
publisher= The City of New York] It is known for innovative programs addressing the specific needs of the community it serves. With over 144,000 ER visits, Lincoln has the busiest single site Emergency Room in the region.

Adult and pediatric asthma patients receive immediate attention in the emergency room from Lincoln's expert medical staff. Adult patients are enrolled in Lincoln’s Comprehensive Care for Patients with Asthma Clinic. The Lincoln Asthma and Allergy Clinic provides an individualized, multidisciplinary approach to asthma and allergy management. This is an important service to the residents of the South Bronx, who have the highest occurrence of asthma in New York City.

Lincoln’s specialty diabetes clinics include adult, pediatric, pregnancy and diabetes education programs. Certified diabetes educators can be consulted around-the-clock and diabetes case management is available for pediatric patients. Recently, Lincoln received a grant from the United Hospital Fund to implement a new health literacy program for its diabetes clinic, POWER/PODER.

Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center received high quality ratings from the New York State Department of Health from hospital profiles comparing key quality measures and treatments for specific conditions in hospitals statewide. Lincoln ranked number two for appropriate care in New York State in the areas of heart attack and heart failure care as well as surgical infection prevention, an HHC corporate initiative.

Lincoln was also singled out for its outstanding work in the prevention of surgical site infection and is the demonstration site for a national training video on this topic. The video is part of a series produced by the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS), which is partnering with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

The New York State Department of Health selected Lincoln as the first hospital in the South Bronx to receive designation as an official Stroke Center. Stroke Center designation ensures that stroke victims will be seen quickly and receive the specific treatment that is critical to preventing permanent disability or death.

Some of Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center's specialty services include: AIDS Center; Asthma Treatment; Diabetes Treatment; Level III Perinatal Center; Regional Trauma Center; Stroke Center; Women's Health Center; Child and Teen Health Services; SAFE (SART) Center.

History

Lincoln Hospital was originally founded in 1839 as the "Home for the Relief of Aged Indigent Black Persons" by a group of prominent philanthropists.cite web
url= http://www.lincolnemresidency.com/lincolnhospitalhistory
title= History of Lincoln Medical Center
accessdate= 2008-01-17] The hospital's function gradually became the most important aspect of the operation, and in 1882, the name was changed to "The Colored Home and Hospital."

In 1895, after more than half a century of occupying various sites in Manhattan, the Board of Trustees purchased a large lot in the South Bronx -- then a semi-rural area of the city -- at the corner of 141st Street and Southern Boulevard. A new hospital was built; its facilities included the latest developments in medical care. The dedication took place on April 29, 1899. The hospital became a general hospital open to all people without regard to color or creed, although it maintained its founding connection as an institution dedicated to the relief and advancement of the Black people. During the hospital's reorganization and eventual occupation of the new site, its name was changed to Lincoln Hospital, to honor the Great Emancipator.

Because of the increasing demand for services required by a more densely populated South Bronx -- and a decreasing supply of philanthropic funds -- in 1925 the Board of Trustees decided to sell Lincoln Hospital to the Department of Public Welfare of the City of New York. The great outflow of physicians to the Armed Forces during World War II and the drastic socioeconomic decline in the area that followed -- erosion of the middle class and great immigration from the southern regions of the United States, the Caribbean, and countries of Latin America -- took their toll on Lincoln Hospital. However, the hospital enjoyed a resurgence in the 1970s as one of the finest institutions for the care of the sick and the training of professionals in the newly formed New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.

In the 1990s, Lincoln became part of the North-Manhattan/South Bronx "Generations Plus Network" together with Metropolitan Hospital, Morrisania Diagnostic and Treatment Center, and Segundo Ruiz Belvis Diagnostic and Treatment Center. In spite of dire predictions, this network continues to strive to provide quality care to a diverse, multiethnic urban population in this era of managed care.

Lincoln medical center today

In 1976, a new facility was dedicated about two miles from the "Old Lincoln," at a construction cost of 220 million dollars. The present hospital building incorporates some of the most advanced concepts in hospital design and sophisticated equipment. It occupies five full city blocks, providing health care to the entire South Bronx community, as well as parts of Upper Manhattan. Lincoln also administers the Substance Abuse Division, located at 349 East 140th Street.

As of 2007, Lincoln has a capacity of 342 beds. Although it constitutes 9% of the beds in the region, Lincoln caters to 31% of the health care visits of this community, where there is fewer than one primary care physician for every 4,000 people.

Over the last decade, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center has successfully transformed itself to a highly respected medical facility. Past criticisms about its quality of service cite book
last = Kozol
first = Jonathan
authorlink = Jonathan Kozol
title = Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation
origyear = 1995
edition = HarperPerennial edition
year = 1996
publisher = Crown Publishers, Inc.
location = New York
isbn = 0-06-097697-7 ] have been replaced by accolades -- It now receives high quality ratings from the New York State Department of Health and is prominently featured in a national training video produced by the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS) in partnership with the Institute for Health Care Improvement (ICI).

References