Southwest General Health Center is a 354-bed hospital located in

Middleburg Heights, Ohio Middleburg Heights is a city and a suburb of Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population held steady at approximately sixteen thousand throughout the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Government Middleburg Heig ...

. It is partnered with

University Hospitals of Cleveland University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH Cleveland Medical Center) is a large not-for-profit academic medical complex in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is the main affiliate hospital of Cas ...

. Southwest General Health Center is certified as a

Level III Trauma Center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emerge ...

and a Primary Stroke Center.

History

Facilities

Southwest General Health Center was founded in 1920 as The Community Hospital. A flu epidemic in 1920 resulted in many deaths of patients while being transported to the nearest hospital in nearby Cleveland. Citizens of several southwestern Cleveland communities responded by raising $100,000 in only 10 days to build a local community hospital in

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio and is a western suburb of Cleveland. The population was 19,093 at the 2010 census. Berea is home to Baldwin Wallace University, as well as the training facility for the Cleveland ...

. After several expansions and a name change to Southwest General Hospital, the current site ran out of room to expand. In 1973 the local communities of Berea, Brook Park,

Olmsted Falls Olmsted Falls is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a southwestern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 9,024 at the 2010 census. The city's main business district is located at the corners of Bagley and Columbia Roads, and c ...

Olmsted Township Olmsted Township is a township located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Situated in the southwest end of the county, Olmsted Township is a west side suburb of Cleveland, and a part of the even larger Greater Cleveland area. As of the 201 ...

Strongsville Strongsville is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 44,750. The city's nickname 'Crossroads of the Nation,' originated from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O ...

, and

Middleburg Heights Middleburg Heights is a city and a suburb of Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population held steady at approximately sixteen thousand throughout the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Government Middleburg He ...

passed tax levies to support the building of a new 235-bed facility nearly a mile down the road from the original location in

. This new facility went through several expansions in 1983, 1994, 2000, and 2006, putting the facility at its current capacity of 354 beds. In 1994, Southwest General Hospital changed its name to Southwest General Health Center to reflect its practices of preventative health care as well as remaining a primary care hospital.

The Old Oak

The new facility built from 1973 to 1975 was built on a large plot of land next to the

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...

Fairgrounds. This site had several old

White Oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...

trees, one of which was more than 200 years old. This 200+ year old tree was left in place near the entrance of the new facility, and quickly became a symbol for the hospital. In 1995, after several attempts to save the tree from disease, the Old Oak was removed due to safety concerns. Several new White Oak trees have been planted, along with a seedling from the Old Oak in the tree's original location. The Old Oak has been a part of the Southwest logo since its move to the current location. Several of the nearby businesses and facilities are named after the Old Oak, as well as Old Oak Boulevard, which borders the west side of the hospital.

2013 Expansion

In 2013, Southwest General started construction on a $124 million expansion to the facility. The new expansion includes a 40,000 square foot

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

, a 24-bed Critical Care Unit, a 250 car underground parking structure, and a new patient bed tower that added 96 private patient rooms to the facility. The emergency department opened in January 2014, and the Critical Care Unit opened three months later. The entire expansion project was completed in 2015.

Partnering With University Hospitals

In 1997, Southwest General entered into a partnering agreement with

University Hospitals A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

; the agreement made Southwest General the flagship hospital for UH on Cleveland's West Side. Through this partnership, Southwest General offers its communities local access to several of the specialty services offered by UH and their facilities.

Ireland Cancer Center

Southwest General built an addition to house their own branch of University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center. This center is designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. This allows Southwest General to offer cancer treatment on-site, as well as providing access to clinical trials.

References

External links

Southwest General Health Center
{{authority control Hospitals in Cleveland Trauma centers