Henry Ford Hospital

Detroit tertiary care hospital
the Detroit hospital

Henry Ford Hospital (HFH) is an 877 bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex at the western edge of the New Center area in Detroit, Michigan. The flagship facility for the Henry Ford Health System, it was one of the first hospitals in the United States to use a standard fee schedule and favor private or semi private rooms over large wards. It was the first hospital in the country to form a closed, salaried medical staff. As founder Henry Ford viewed tobacco as being unhealthy, the hospital was one of the first in the United States to institute a total ban on smoking. Henry Ford Hospital is staffed by the Henry Ford Medical Group, one of the nation's largest and oldest group practices with 1,200 physicians in more than 40 specialties. Henry Ford Hospital, which opened in 1915, is a Level 1 trauma center, recognized for clinical excellence and innovations in the fields of cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, sports medicine, organ transplants, and treatment for prostate, breast, and lung cancers. Henry Ford Hospital annually trains more than 500 residents and 125 fellows in 46 accredited programs. Through its affiliation with Wayne State University, more than 400 medical students train at the hospital each academic year. The Detroit hospital and campus is led by president and CEO, Doctor of Medicine, John Popovich, Jr.

In 1909, responding to the lack of hospital beds in the city, Dr. William Metcalf organized the Detroit General Hospital Association. The Association included a number of prominent Detroit citizens, among whom was Henry Ford. The Association used donations from its members to purchase a site at Grand Boulevard and Hamilton, and to hire architect William Stratton to design the hospital. Construction on the original seven buildings began in 1912, but the Association soon realized that its $600,000 budget was far too small to complete the hospital. However, in 1914, Henry Ford offered to complete the project and pay off the original donors, in exchange for complete control. The Association accepted, and construction continued. The original seven buildings—a service building, power house, garage, private patient building, surgical pavilion, and two other small buildings—were completed by 1915, and Henry Ford Hospital opened its doors to patients on October 1. Henry Ford organized a closed staff of physicians and surgeons, many of whom came from Johns Hopkins,

In 1940, Dr. Conrad Lam was the first physician in the United States to administer purified heparin to treat clotting of veins. In 1942, Henry Ford Hospital became one of a few U. S. hospitals selected by the National Research Council as a trial site to test penicillin. In 1943, Henry Ford Hospital's doctor Frank Hartman developed the liquid oxygen tent. In 1944, Henry Ford Hospital became the first hospital to use the now routine technique of multiple lead electrocardiograms. Also in 2001, doctors at Henry Ford Hospital became the first in Michigan to use gene therapy for the treatment of brain tumors. In 2005, doctor Scott Dulchavsky, chair of the department of Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, expanded uses for ultrasound technology for physicians and non medical personnel; these procedures can be used as an accurate diagnostic tool when coupled with the Internet, a telephone or wireless transmission of ultrasound images to experts from a patient in rural areas or in space. Also in 2005, Henry Ford Medical Group began using e prescribing to cut prescription costs and improve quality. HFMG physicians now write more than 20,000 electronic prescriptions weekly, helping improve their overall generic use rate by 7.3 percent. In 2008, Henry Ford Hospital became the first hospital in southeastern Michigan to perform a new, minimally invasive procedure for back pain that spares the nerves from being nicked and back muscles from being cut. In 2009, Henry Ford Hospital received more than $70 million in research funding. The composite multivisceral transplant procedure included transplant of the patient's small bowel, stomach, and pancreas.

Researchers at Henry Ford Health System report that patients with chronic hepatitis C who are treated with direct acting antiviral medications are less likely to be hospitalized for liver and non liver related health issues.

Henry Ford Hospital sits on a campus at the western edge of the New Center area. The main hospital is at the southern boundary of the campus, facing Grand Boulevard, with additions to the north and west. The remainder of the buildings are located north of the main hospital. The campus includes multiple buildings constructed at different times and designed by different architects in different architectural styles. However, the buildings relate to each other, as most use similarly colored brick and similar trim features. In 2017, The Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Pistons announced plans to build a new $65 million, Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center, that includes a dedicated 25,000 square foot sports medicine building, that will also be available to the public, and that will be connected to the performance center. It will be located in the TechTown area of New Center.

In 2011, Henry Ford Health System was one of four recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, presented by the president of the United States. In the same year, the hospital was selected by the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission to receive the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award. The No Harm Campaign was recognized for successfully reducing harm events by 26% and system wide mortality by 12% from 2008 to 2011. Additionally, Henry Ford Hospital received the 2010 American Hospital Association McKesson Quest for Quality finalist award. The prize honors hospitals that have committed in a systematic manner to achieving the Institute of Medicine's six quality aims—safety, patient centeredness, effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness, and equity.

The Henry Ford Health System Police Authority provides public safety, security and general law enforcement service for the Henry Ford Hospital Campus along with its satellite Hospitals and Medical Centers.