Emory Report
February 16, 2009
Volume 61, Number 20


 

   

Emory Report homepage  

February 16
, 2009
Hospital name change enhances mission

By sarah Goodwin

Emory Crawford Long Hospital has been renamed to Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM), following the Emory University Board of Trustees’ decision.

For more than 70 years, Emory’s Midtown hospital has been wholly owned and operated by Emory University. The hospital will continue its growth in research and clinical trials, educating the next generation of health professionals, and providing the latest and most advanced medical technology and patient care.

President Jim Wagner says the decision emphasizes the importance of EUHM within Emory’s health system: “Being more clearly affiliated with Emory in the public eye will help expand upon the hospital’s 100-year tradition of providing outstanding care to people in metro Atlanta and throughout the region.”

Fred Sanfilippo, executive vice president for health affairs and chair of Emory Healthcare, says the change “will fuel progress toward the Woodruff Health Sciences Center’s goal of being the 21st century model for an academic health sciences and services center. By clarifying the hospital’s relationship with Emory’s entire health system, the new name will enhance its already impressive reputation in the community — enabling even greater opportunities for cutting-edge research, world-class education and high-quality patient- and family-centered care.”

Emory’s Midtown hospital celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2008, and is an important part of Atlanta’s health care history and heritage.

Today, EUHM is a 511-bed community-based, acute care teaching facility. Chief Operating Officer Dane Peterson leads the hospital with its nearly 2,900 employees, 947 Emory medical faculty and nearly 537 private practice community physicians.

“Emory University, being more visible on the hospital’s campus between the Peachtrees, will strengthen the hospital’s position as a symbolic gateway between Midtown and Downtown,” says John T. Fox, CEO of Emory Healthcare.

The institution’s history dates back to 1908, when two physicians, Edward Campbell Davis and Luther C. Fischer, opened the 26-bed Davis-Fischer Sanatorium.

In 1931, the hospital was renamed Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital in honor of Crawford W. Long, the Georgia physician who discovered sulphuric ether for use as an anesthetic and was the first doctor to use anesthesia during surgery.

“We hope our patients and their families, as well as our staff and physicians, will see that while we have grown into a premier academic medical center, the Crawford Long name and its place in history will continue to be a source of pride,” says Fox.

While focused on Emory’s three-tiered mission of excellent patient care, cutting-edge research and a dynamic destination for education, the Midtown Atlanta landmark will also remain true to its heritage and history. The hospital will maintain some of its historical signage, while adding the initials CL for Crawford Long onto much of its new signage. A museum-quality historical display will remain in a prominent location, and EUHM’s museum, which further details its long-standing history, will be highlighted to both patients and visitors.