Barlow Respiratory Hospital facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Barlow Respiratory Hospital |
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Barlow Respiratory Hospital
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 Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
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| Geography | |
| Location | 2000 Stadium Way, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°04′34″N 118°14′53″W / 34.076°N 118.248°W |
| History | |
| Founded | 1902 |
The Barlow Respiratory Hospital is a special hospital in Los Angeles, California. It's located near Dodger Stadium in the Elysian Park area. This hospital also has other locations in Van Nuys and Whittier, California. It used to be called the Barlow Sanatorium.
Barlow Respiratory Hospital helps people with serious breathing problems. It's a place where patients stay for a longer time to get better. They are experts at helping patients who need machines to breathe learn to breathe on their own again. They also treat other lung diseases and related health issues. About 900 patients are cared for here each year.
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Who Does the Hospital Help?
The hospital helps many different people from all over Los Angeles County. Most patients are from Los Angeles, but some come from other counties, states, and even other countries. Patients are usually older and have many health problems. They often come to Barlow after being in an intensive care unit (ICU) at another hospital. They need more time to recover before they can go home or to another care facility.
Special Programs at Barlow
Barlow Respiratory Hospital has four main programs to help patients. These programs treat not only breathing problems but also other health issues that often come with them. This way, they help the whole person get better.
Helping Patients Breathe on Their Own
Barlow is famous for its success in helping patients stop using breathing machines, called ventilators. Almost 60% of their patients learn to breathe on their own again, which is one of the highest rates in the country!
They use a special method called the Barlow TIPS Ventilator Weaning Protocol. Doctors who specialize in lungs created this plan. The Barlow team, including breathing therapists, guides patients step-by-step. They help people who couldn't get off the ventilator at other hospitals learn to breathe independently.
Caring for Wounds
Many patients who come to Barlow have been lying in bed for a long time. This can cause special skin sores called bed wounds. The hospital has a program to give these wounds the special care they need to heal.
Care for Very Sick Patients
Doctors who are experts in many different areas lead the care for very sick patients at Barlow. They help patients with heart problems, brain conditions, infections, kidney disease, and blood disorders. They also care for those with complex breathing needs. The team works to solve serious medical issues so patients can move to a less intensive care setting or go home.
Rebuilding Barlow Hospital
The hospital started a big project in 2018 called "ReBuild Barlow." This plan is making the hospital stronger and more modern. Older parts of the hospital needed updates to be safer in case of earthquakes. This project is helping the hospital continue to operate while a new hospital building is being constructed inside the existing walls.
A Teaching Hospital
Barlow has been a teaching hospital for many years. Medical students from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA learn here. It's also a training place for students studying respiratory therapy, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and nutrition.
History of Barlow Hospital
Walter Jarvis Barlow started the Barlow Sanatorium in 1902. He became a doctor in 1892. Dr. Barlow himself got tuberculosis in 1895. He moved to Sierra Madre, California because the dry, sunny weather was thought to help with the disease.
He bought 25 acres of land next to Elysian Park to build the sanatorium. This spot was perfect because the hills kept the air clean, and the park meant no new buildings would block the fresh air. In the early days, patients lived in special tent cottages. These tents allowed them to get lots of fresh air and sunlight, which were very important for recovering from tuberculosis back then.
Patients at the Barlow Sanatorium had to follow strict rules. For example, they had to use special cups for spitting and burn their handkerchiefs. They couldn't talk about their illnesses or make too much noise. Lights were out at 9 p.m., and they had to take a cold plunge every morning! Patients were also expected to do some work around the sanatorium if they were able. If they didn't follow the rules, they were sent away.
As time went on, new medicines made tuberculosis less dangerous in the United States. Because of this, the sanatorium changed its focus. It started helping people with other long-term breathing problems and related diseases. In 1990, the hospital site was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.
Barlow Hospital Timeline
- 1902 – Dr. Walter Jarvis Barlow, who had tuberculosis himself, started Barlow Sanatorium to help others with the disease.
- 1925 – The first hospital building, the Solano Infirmary, burned down. Luckily, no one was hurt. It reopened in 1927.
- 1937 – Dr. Walter Jarvis Barlow passed away at age 69.
- 1938 – Barlow officially partnered with the University of Southern California Medical School. This partnership continues today.
- 1944 – Effective treatments for tuberculosis were developed, giving hope to many.
- 1960s – Barlow Sanatorium changed its name and became a hospital for long-term breathing diseases.
- 1970 – Barlow started helping patients get off breathing machines.
- 1990 – The Barlow Respiratory Research Center was created.
- 1994 – The Barlow Foundation was started.
- 1997 – The first satellite hospital location opened in Whittier.
- 2007 – A second satellite location opened in Van Nuys.
- 2015 – Amit Mohan became the new CEO of Barlow Respiratory Hospital.
- 2016 – The hospital received the Gold Seal of Approval® for Respiratory Failure from the Joint Commission. It was also named a Passy-Muir Center of Excellence for treating patients with tracheostomies.
- 2018 – Barlow Respiratory Hospital announced the "ReBuild Barlow" project to create a new hospital inside the existing building.
- 2019 – The Barlow Foundation held a dinner to raise money for the ReBuild Barlow project.
- From 1989 to 2018, Barlow Respiratory Hospital published many research papers and articles about helping patients get off breathing machines and other topics.
Buildings on the Campus
Barlow Respiratory Hospital has a large 25-acre campus. It has cottages, a library, the main hospital, and a community hall. There are even old chicken coops still standing! This layout shows how the hospital used to be a sanatorium where patients lived for several years.
Cottages on the Campus
At first, tuberculosis patients lived in tent cottages to get fresh air. Later, people donated money to build permanent cottages. These bungalows are in the California bungalow style. During World War I, many soldiers got tuberculosis and came to Barlow. The Los Angeles Red Cross built four-room cottages for these military patients. Some of these cottages are still used today.
The Library
The hospital's library was opened on May 6, 1922. It has stucco walls and a red tile roof and is still used today. The Los Angeles Optimists Club paid for it. It has beautiful stained glass windows donated by James Slauson and Mrs. Helena Torrance. Mrs. Torrance donated her window in memory of her husband, Jared Sidney Torrance, who was a leader on Barlow's Board of Trustees. The library was updated in 1992.
The Guildhouse
The Guildhouse was once where the men who worked at the hospital lived. In 1975, the old building was turned into a gift and plant shop. This was paid for by the Barlow Guild, a group of former patients who loved to help the hospital. The Guildhouse closed in 2014. After a big renovation, it reopened in 2021. Now, it's used for administrative offices and as a communication center.
The Hospital Building
In 1903, the first hospital building at Barlow Sanatorium was a permanent cottage. It had 13 rooms, two bathrooms, and beds for 12 patients. It was built with donations from Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Solano, so it was named the Solano Infirmary. In September 1925, the Solano Infirmary burned down. In 1927, Alfred's wife, Mrs. Ella Brooks Solano, paid for a new infirmary. This building, called the Ella Brooks Solano Infirmary, is still the main hospital building today. In 2018, the hospital announced plans to strengthen this historic building and build a new hospital inside it.
