DOCTORS' LOUNGE
(continued from page 31) 4. Annals of Internal Medicine 2018: 169:51
While there appears to be slowly increasing general appreciation
of the benefits of a single-payor system, there still is a long way to
go. The recent endorsement by the American College of Physicians
represents a major recognition of the need for change (9) . 5. Personal communication. Ted Younge MD, McMasters University, Ham-
ilton, Ontario, Canada
6. En.m.wikipedia.org>wiki>single-payor healthcare
7. New York Times, Sunday Review, November 17, 2019
References 8. Annals of Internal Medicine, Medicine and Public Issues, 7 January 2020
1. Fortune.com/2019/02/07/American-health-care-underinsured-rate/ 9. Acponline.org
2. Getting Sick and Going Broke – Boston Globe, December 16, 2019 3. Himmelstein et al, American Journal of Medicine 2009
Dr. Flynn is a retired surgical oncologist.
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE HOSPITAL: THE GOOD
SAMARITAN FOR ALL KENTUCKY
T
AUTHOR Gordon R. Tobin, MD
he parable of the Good Samaritan
(Luke 10:25-37) has been called “the
Great Commandment.” It is a clear
call to compassion for all, including
those outside one’s own kind or one’s
own community. The principle illumi-
nated is a central element of medical
ethics and a guiding light to physicians and
their institutions. No term better reflects the
historic mission of the University of Louis-
ville Hospital to citizens throughout Kentucky over its nearly two
centuries of continuous service.
ORIGIN FROM OHIO RIVER TRAFFIC
In a historical review for upcoming publication, I found that the
hospital that would eventually become UofL Health opened in
1823, primarily to care for injured and ill steamboat passengers
and boatmen from up and down the Ohio River, whose numbers
overwhelmed the ability of Louisville citizens to provide care in
their homes (fig. 1). It has changed names, but it remains at the
same site on East Chestnut Street, and it continues to this day to
have the same mission of serving a widespread area.
FORMATION OF A MEDICAL CENTER
A substantial expansion of service was achieved in the early 1950s,
when the Louisville Medical Center was formed around the hospital,
then named Louisville General Hospital (fig. 2). On immediately
adjacent sites, the Louisville Medical Center included Children’s
Hospital (est. 1892) (now Norton Children’s Hospital) and grew by
bringing from elsewhere in the city both Jewish Hospital (est. 1905)
and the Norton Memorial Infirmary (est. 1886). This assembly of
fine institutions rendered enormous medical service to Kentucky
citizens, and it provided the infrastructure to achieve spectacular
medical advances that brought national recognition to Kentucky
medicine. Recently, Jewish Hospital has become fully integrated
with UofL Health, and Children’s Hospital and pediatric staff have
become fully integrated with Norton Hospital.
STATEWIDE SERVICES
All UofL Health departments give service to citizens across Kentucky,
but this is especially reflected in the large numbers of admissions for
32
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
advanced multidisciplinary care in trauma, burns, transplantation
surgery and medicine, and cardiovascular surgery and medicine.
I have had the great privilege of participating in all of these arenas
and have witnessed the dedication and skills of the medical teams,
the stewardship of UofL Health and the great benefits given to
Kentucky patients.
TRAUMA CARE
From its opening in 1823, the hospital was a precursor of trauma
centers, although the term would not exist for over a century. Now,
the UofL Health Trauma Center is the busiest and most capable in
the state, and it qualifies for an American College of Surgeons Level
1 designation. From over 6,000 injuries seen annually in the UofL
Health Emergency Department, more than 3,500 require hospital
admission and care. Over one-half of these come from outside
Louisville. The service map (fig. 3) spans virtually all of Kentucky.
The adult Trauma Service at UofL Health and the pediatric Trauma
Service at Norton Children’s Hospital are closely coordinated to
bring the most up-to-date and effective injury care to all ages. The
daily stream of emergency helicopter arrivals at UofL Health and
Children’s Hospitals attests to their broad regional service (fig. 4).
The life-saving results are heroic, with enormous economic savings
to the state. In addition to direct care, the Trauma Center sponsors
a substantial number of symposia, personnel training courses and
injury prevention programs across the state.
BURN CARE
The UofL Health Burn Center is the only burn care unit in Kentucky.
UofL Health has had a dedicated burn unit since its 1985 opening,
but in 2018, tripled its burn care capacity with a major renovation
to state-of-the-art standards. This improved facility served 167
burn patients from across Kentucky in 2018, and it provided superb
rehabilitation during and after initial care. Again, the lives saved
and the economic return are extraordinary.
A poignant memory for me was caring for children from Rad-
cliff, Ky., who were badly burned in the infamous bus crash near
Carrolton, Ky., May 14, 1988. Twenty-seven children died at the
crash site, an event that remains an historic state tragedy. The chil-
dren who survived the crash were brought to UofL Health Medical
Center for treatment of extensive burns. In 1977, I had introduced