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Duke University Hospital is a 1062 -bed acute care facility and an academic tertiary care facility located in
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Established in 1930, it is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health System, a network of physicians and hospitals serving Durham County and Wake County, North Carolina, and surrounding areas, as well as one of three Level I referral centers for the Research Triangle of North Carolina (the other two are UNC Hospitals in nearby Chapel Hill and WakeMed Raleigh in Raleigh). It is affiliated with the Duke University School of Medicine.


History


1924–1935: early years

The institution traces its roots back to 1924, six years before the opening of the hospital, when James Buchanan Duke established the Duke Endowment to transform
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
(then known as Trinity College) into the
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
it is today. In 1925, Duke bequeathed $4 million to establish the
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
, nursing school, and hospital. Two years later, in 1927, construction began on the original hospital (now known as Duke South), which opened on July 21, 1930, with 400 beds. In 1931, the hospital and medical school were officially dedicated on April 20 and the Private Diagnostic Clinic (Duke's in-house physician system) was organized on September 16. In 1935, less than five years after the hospital opened, the
American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...
ranked Duke among the top 20 of medical schools in the country.


1936–1969: a number of firsts

In 1936, a team of physicians led by Dr. Julian Deryl Hart introduced ultraviolet light in operating rooms in an effort to kill germs and combat post-operative staph infections, greatly reducing the number of infections and related deaths. In the same year, the hospital established the nation's first
brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...
program, launching what would become one of the world's most renowned programs in the field of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
treatment. In 1937, Joseph Beard developed a
vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
against equine encephalomyelitis, one of the first known vaccines to combat the
mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
-carried disease. In 1940, the hospital made its first expansion, adding a new wing to the original building. In 1946, the Division of Thoracic Surgery, today the Duke Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, was organized by Josiah Charles Trent. In 1947, the Bell Research Building became the first freestanding building on the hospital campus. In 1954, the Duke
Poison Control Center A poison control center is a medical service that is able to provide immediate, free, and expert treatment advice and assistance over the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances. Poison control centers answer questions ...
was organized, becoming one of the first two organized in the country. In 1955, psychiatrist Ewald W. Busse established the Duke University Center for Aging, the first research center of its kind in the nation. Currently the oldest continuously operating facility in the United States, this center has pioneered long-term studies of health problems among seniors. In 1956, Duke surgeons performed the first cardiac surgery using systemic
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
to bring a patient's body temperature down to less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit in an effort to minimize tissue damage during lengthy surgeries. With the success of this experiment, systemic hypothermia has become standard procedure in all hospitals worldwide. In 1957, the hospital and medical school were renamed Duke University Medical Center. In 1958, Thelma Ingles, a professor and chair of the Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, developed the clinical nursing specialist program, becoming the first master's program of its kind in the United States. The establishment of the nursing specialist program paved the way for advanced clinical knowledge in the delivery and teaching of the nursing field. The 1960s brought extraordinary firsts to Duke. In 1963, the first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
student was accepted to the prestigious medical school. Two years later, in 1965, the hospital established the first
physician assistant A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-physician practitioner. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes be ...
program in the country. In 1966, Duke became the first medical center in the world to offer radio consultations with physicians in developing countries. This program, called Med-Aid (short for Medical Assistance for Isolated Doctors), met the critical needs of the physicians who lacked proper treatment. That same year, the Medical Scientist Training Program, a joint program leading to simultaneous M.D. and Ph.D. degrees, was established, becoming one of the first three in the nation. In 1969, the first recorded studies of human's abilities to function and work at pressures equal to a 1,000-foot (300 m) deep sea dive were conducted in the hyperbaric chamber.


1970–1989: a period of growth and expansion

With the dawn of the 1970s, Duke underwent a period of expansion that continued well into the 1980s. In December 1971, the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center was established under the National Cancer Act. Duke's cancer center, one of the first in the nation under this groundbreaking legislation, was officially designated as a "comprehensive" cancer center by the
National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
in 1973. That same year, the Duke Eye Center was dedicated and opened on November 8. In 1978, the Morris Cancer Research Building opened, giving researchers a place to study and find cures for the disease. DCI partners with a number of other centers and institutes including
North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...
and the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
Rogel Cancer Center. During the 1970s, the hospital also faced two distinct unionization drives aimed at uniting the unskilled service workers of Duke Hospital. The 1974 and 1978 drives both ultimately failed, and the 1980s ushered in a twenty-year low in organizing and activism at the hospital. In 1980, Duke moved into its present $94.5 million facility (Duke North) on Erwin Road, located just north of its original location. In 1985, with the emergence of
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
bringing alarm to the medical community, Duke became one of the first two hospitals to conduct human clinical trials on
AZT Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), was the first antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent vertica ...
, the first drug to offer an improved quality of life in patients battling AIDS.


1990–present: accelerated growth and expansion

In the 1990s, the medical research at Duke reached the forefront for the detection of ailments that can be treated with a larger success rate. In 1990, Duke geneticists invented a three-minute test to screen
newborn In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...
s for over 30 metabolic diseases at one time. This practice has since become standard worldwide. In 1992, Duke's cancer center became the first hospital to develop an outpatient
bone marrow transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, in order to replicate inside a patient and produce a ...
program. That same year, the hospital performed its first lung and heart/lung transplants. The year 1994 marked the beginning of accelerated expansion for Duke. That year, the Levine Science Research Center and the Medical Sciences Research Center were opened. In addition, there were extensive renovations of the Duke Clinic (Duke South), additions to the Morris Cancer Research Building, a new Children's Health Center, a freestanding Ambulatory Care Center, and expanded parking options for visitors. In 1998, the Duke University Health System was created with newly established partnerships with Durham Regional Hospital and Raleigh Community Hospital. That same year, the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
partnered with Duke to offer the first joint master's of health science in a clinical research degree. With this extraordinary partnership, the NIH became the first organization to offer a joint graduate degree program with a major university. In 2001, the hospital was the first to establish a center dedicated exclusively to
Cardiovascular In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart a ...
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and ...
. In December 2019, a team at the hospital became the first in the United States to transplant an adult heart into a recipient through a process known as donation after circulatory death. The transplant takes place after the heart has stopped beating and the person is declared dead. In 2019, Duke Regional Hospital began a major expansion project on its emergency department and behavioral health unit. The $102.4 million project will increase the number of private rooms and increase the number of outpatient behavioral health clinic rooms from 19 to 30. In September 2021, doctors at Duke University Hospital completed the first heart donation after circulatory death on a child.


Rankings and Reputation

In 2024, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Duke University Hospital as the best hospital in
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, and is rated as high performing in one adult specialty (Cancer) and in 19 procedures and conditions. It was also ranked 1st in the Research Triangle region, second among children's hospitals, as well as being nationally ranked and is recognized on the ''U.S. & World News Report's'' Honor Roll Hospitals.


Notable alumni

* Heidi Wunderli-Allenspach (born 1947), Swiss biologist and first women rector of ETH Zurich * Robert J. Lefkowitz (born April 1943), American physician and biochemist and winner of the 2012
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
in Chemistry * Paul Modrich (born June 1946), American biochemist and winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry * Charles H. Townes (born July 1915), American physicist and winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics


See also

* Rebecca Buckley


References


External links


Duke University Hospital
{{Coord, 36.0072, -78.9373, region:US-NC_type:landmark, display=title Hospital buildings completed in 1930 Hospital buildings completed in 1980
Hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
Hospitals in Durham, North Carolina Teaching hospitals in North Carolina Trauma centers 1930 establishments in North Carolina