History
History of the General Surgical Training Program
The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati is the oldest Jewish hospital in
the country, having been established in 1850, "for the purpose
of alleviating the indigent, poor, sick of the Jewish faith," and
to prevent deathbed conversions. It has been a tertiary referring
hospital throughout its existence and remains so today. The Jewish
Hospital is a member of The
Health Alliance of Cincinnati. The Health Alliance also owns a large
primary care organization, which captures a large patient population
that is referred to the Health Alliance facilities. In 1997, the
clinical operations of the hospital were moved from the "Pill
Hill" location in Avondale to the Northeast suburb of Cincinnati,
Kenwood. 
This move was critical in allowing The Jewish Hospital to
flourish during a time of consolidation and closings for many of
its cohabitant hospitals of Pill Hill. The Jewish Hospital continues
to be the one consistently profitable institution in the Health Alliance
with resulting excellent support for clinical programs and education.
In 2006, The Jewish Hospital was named one of the nation’s
100 Top Hospitals® in the category of teaching hospitals by Solucient ® for
its educational programs.
The first House Officer was hired by The Jewish Hospital in 1923 and
a surgical training program has been in continual existence since 1933.
A hallmark is the small program, but highly dedicated faculty, whose
commitment to resident education has always been of the highest order.
The graduates of the surgical training program follow diverse paths
after matriculation with many entering private practice in traditionally
under-served parts of the country. The program offers a deep clinical
experience for the resident with exposure to all the key components
of surgery. There are 220 beds at The Jewish Hospital with half designated
as surgical beds. There is an active cardiac surgery practice, several
advanced laparoscopists, high-quality flexible endoscopy practitioners,
a 16-bed ICU and a newly renovated emergency department that treats 35,000
patients each year. The affiliation with multiple departments of surgery
in the city of Cincinnati allows The Jewish Hospital resident to gain
exposure to those services not provided at the home institution: trauma,
burns, pediatric surgery, transplantation and anorectal. The residents
are well integrated into these teams. The clinical sites for these
rotations are less than 10 miles from The Jewish Hospital.
The medical staff leadership of The Jewish Hospital is streamlined
with the two residency program directors also functioning as chairs
of their departments. The chair of surgery is administratively responsible
for all surgical disciplines and anesthesia. This arrangement allows
certain efficiencies and a close working relationship with the hospital
administration that has benefited the training program. Of recent note,
in response to the resident work-hour restrictions, the hospital has
funded the establishment of an Advanced Practice Nursing division,
which is under the direction of the Department of Surgery. Five C.N.P.s
have been hired as physician extenders in the bariatric, thoracic,
vascular and ICU clinical arenas.
