Bridgeport Hospital - Bridgeport Hospital

Bridgeport Hospital is a not-for-profit general medical and surgical hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is a member of Yale New Haven Health System and affiliated with Yale School of Medicine.

History

In the 1870s, Dr. George Lewis, a physician practicing in the city, persuaded his aunt, Susan Hubbell, to bequeath $13,500 and an acre at the summit of Mill Hill for the construction of a hospital, the first in Fairfield County, and only the third in the state. Before Bridgeport Hospital, "the closest thing to a hospital in the city was a facility in the basement of the future police headquarters, where infection and mortality rates were high among the emergency patients and poor residents who received care there," according to the hospital's web site.

The hospital was founded in 1878 when Bridgeport Mayor P.T. Barnum and other community leaders received approval from the state legislature to incorporate the institution. When a board of directors was named soon afterward, Barnum was elected its first president. Construction on the present site began in 1883 to designs by local architects Lambert & Bunnell. On November 12, 1884, the new hospital began treating patients.

Description

Bridgeport Hospital has 357 beds and more than 2,600 employees. It has nearly 600 active attending physicians representing more than 60 sub-specialties, 230 medical/surgical residents and fellows in programs affiliated with Yale School of Medicine, and more than 280 volunteers and 240 auxilians. It is an American College of Surgeons-certified Level II trauma center and is equipped with a helipad.

Bridgeport Hospital receives 16,959 admissions and 79,058 emergency department visits annually. It performs 4,144 inpatient and 8,248 outpatient surgeries.

The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission.

The hospital is one of only a few in Connecticut offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and operates the only specialized burn care facility in Connecticut. The hospital’s Norma F. Pfriem Cancer Institute, which includes the Norma F. Pfreim Breast Care Center and other cancer centers of excellence, is approved by the American College of Surgeons as a Teaching Hospital Cancer Program,

The Ahlbin Rehabilitation Centers provide comprehensive musculoskeletal, neurological, and cognitive rehabilitation services, including specialized services for young children. Service lines include Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, and Recreational Therapy (including Music and Art Therapy)

References

External links

• Official Website
• Connecticut Department of Public Health
• Hospital Performance Comparisons a report released in February 2006 by the state Department of Health