UT Medical Center celebrates 50 years

Despite hauling the physical contents of their entire medical careers in suitcases, the nurses walked with an extra bounce in their step as they descended the flight of steps, all sporting smiles, on that hot summer day in Knoxville. August 9, 1956, was far more than a routine day at Knoxville General Hospital, it was the beginning of a new era for medical care in the Knoxville region. On that day, the antiquated facility ceased to exist. That gave way for those suitcase-toting nurses – along with the physicians, patients and staff at the hospital – to make the journey to a brand new, state-of-the-art building, thus marking the opening of what is now the University of Tennessee Medical Center (originally called the University of Tennessee Memorial Research Center and Hospital). “I’m amazed when I look at the old pictures of hospital staff caring for patients in the early days of the University of Tennessee Medical Center, because that’s the same dedication to patient care that I see every day,” said Joe Landsman, President and CEO of the University of Tennessee Medical Center. “There have been so many advances in medicine, all the new buildings and leading-edge equipment added to our hospital in the past 50 years, but the one constant is how the members of our staff care for the patients they serve.” The leaded vault built to house the expected radioactive isotopes to be used for cancer research led many to call the new facility “the atomic hospital” or “the isotopic hospital.” The vault, no longer necessary due to advances in research and medicine, is one of many examples of the ongoing commitment to research at the region’s only teaching hospital. University of Tennessee Medical Center patients now benefit from the varied services provided by the hospital, which include the hospital’s widely respected Centers of Excellence: the Brain and Spine Institute, the Cancer Institute, the Center for Women and Children’s Health, the Primary Care Network, Emergency and Trauma Services and the Heart Lung Vascular Institute. Likewise, advances in medicine have been great in the 50 years since the University of Tennessee Medical Center first opened its doors. Since 1956, the world has seen the development of vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, pneumonia, meningitis, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and lyme disease. During the past 50 years, the American Cancer Society determined that smoking is detrimental to our health; the World Health Organization announced the eradication of smallpox; and the U.S. Congress passed the Infant Formula Act, requiring minimum amounts of essential nutrients in commercially prepared baby foods. Each change helped members of the medical staff at the medical center better treat and educate their patients. “Both the quality and scope of services provided by the medical staff at the University of Tennessee Medical Center is astonishing,” said Dr. John W. Lacey, III, senior vice president and chief medical officer at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. “We’re constantly mindful of our commitment to improve the quality of life of our patients through leadership in healthcare, health education and clinical research. To accomplish that, we’re constantly upgrading our services.” The list of improvements throughout the years is long. Here are just some of the major advancements in medicine, equipment and facilities at the University of Tennessee Medical Center throughout the half-century of service to the region: • 2006 – Construction begins at the University of Tennessee Medical Center for what will become the region’s first and only designated Level III private-room Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. • 2005 – Surgeons at the University of Tennessee Medical Center perform the first pancreatic transplant in the region. • 2004 – The 103,000-square-foot Heart Lung Vascular Institutes opens, expanding the medical center’s comprehensive treatment, education, testing and screening for conditions of the heart and lungs, as well as for vascular diseases. • 2003 – The medical center’s multidisciplinary approach to cancer prevention, care and treatment is strengthened with the opening of the 68,000-square-foot Cancer Institute. • 2001 – Vastly expanded and updated Emergency Department and Trauma Center opens. • 1999 – University Health System, Inc. (UHS), a not-for-profit entity, purchases the University of Tennessee Medical Center from the University of Tennessee. The mission of the Medical Center remains focused on patient care, education and research. • 1997 – Cole Neuroscience Center opens to treat Parkinson’s and other movement disorders at the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s Brain and Spine Institute. • 1994 – The University of Tennessee Medical Center receives Level I Pediatric Trauma Center designation from the state. • 1991 – The education and research functions of the hospital are greatly strengthened when the UT Board of Trustees approves establishment of the UT Graduate School of Medicine. • 1988 – The University of Tennessee Medical Center receives designation as the region’s only Level I Trauma Center. • 1985 – Surgeons perform the region’s first kidney transplant. Even now, the University of Tennessee Medical Center remains the only hospital in the region to perform kidney transplants. • 1984 – UT LIFESTAR, the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s aeromedical transport service, begins operations. • 1981 – The University of Tennessee Medical Center receives designation as one of just five Regional Perinatal Centers in the state. • 1971 – The UT Board of Trustees creates the Clinical Education Center to train senior class medical students each year. • 1970 – The Intensive Care Nursery and the 184-bed South Pavilion open. • Early 1970s – The Department of Family Practice establishes a residency-training program and the UT Board of Trustees creates the Clinical Education Center to train senior class medical students. • 1960s – The construction of several research facilities and patient-care facilities at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and the addition of three physicians’ office buildings significantly contribute to patient-care capabilities at the hospital. • August 9, 1956 – The University of Tennessee Memorial Research Center and Hospital, including 14 laboratories to be used for research, opens. “Our 50th anniversary merely marks the beginning of our commitment to the region,” Landsman said. “At the University of Tennessee Medical Center, we will always work to provide excellence in patient care and to bring the latest research and newest technology and procedures to our patients.” “A 50th anniversary certainly is a significant milestone, and we’re proud to reach it,” Lacey said. “But what’s most significant about the University of Tennessee Medical Center is that we have always put patients first, and we always will.” The University of Tennessee Medical Center is a 581-bed, not-for-profit academic medical center, which serves as a referral center for Eastern Tennessee, Southeast Kentucky and Western North Carolina. The Medical Center, the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, is one of the largest employers in Knoxville. For more information about the University of Tennessee Medical Center, visit online at www.utmedicalcenter.org.