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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center facts for kids

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Health System
Cedars Sinai Medical Center logo.svg
Cedars-Sinai West.jpg
View of North and South Towers of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Geography
Location 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, United States
Coordinates 34°04′31″N 118°22′50″W / 34.075198°N 118.380676°W / 34.075198; -118.380676
Organization
Funding Non-profit hospital
Hospital type Academic health science center
Affiliated university UCLA
Services
Emergency department Level I trauma center
Helipad (FAA LID: CA46)
Beds 1,120 beds
History
Founded 1902, 1918, 1961

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a very large hospital in Los Angeles, California. It is a special kind of hospital called a teaching hospital. This means doctors who are still learning come here to get training. It's also an academic health science center, which means it focuses on both patient care and important medical research.

Cedars-Sinai is a non-profit hospital with 1,120 beds. It has over 2,000 doctors and 10,000 employees. Plus, about 2,000 volunteers help out every day. In 2022–23, U.S. News & World Report said Cedars-Sinai was one of the best hospitals in the western United States. It works closely with the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The hospital is a leader in medical research. Doctors and scientists work together to find new ways to treat diseases. They do this through many research projects and clinical trials. Cedars-Sinai is also a Level I trauma center. This means it's ready to handle the most serious injuries and emergencies for both adults and kids. The hospital's name comes from the famous Cedars of Lebanon trees and Mount Sinai mountain, which are important in history.

History of Cedars-Sinai

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was formed by combining two older hospitals. Let's learn about how it all started!

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital
Entrance to old Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, 1956
Cedars of Lebanon Hospital Hollywood, CA
Cedars of Lebanon Hospital Hollywood

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital's Start

The first hospital was called Kaspare Cohn Hospital. It was started in 1902 by a Jewish businessman named Kaspare Cohn. He gave a two-story house in Los Angeles to be the hospital. When it first opened on September 21, 1902, it only had 12 beds. At first, all its services were free for patients.

From 1906 to 1910, Dr. Sarah Vasen was in charge. She was the first Jewish female doctor in Los Angeles. In 1910, the hospital moved to a bigger place. It had 50 beds and a special ward for people with tuberculosis. Over time, it changed from a charity hospital to a general hospital. This meant it started charging patients for care.

In 1930, the hospital moved again. It opened as Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. The name came from the special Lebanon cedar trees. These trees were used to build King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem long ago. The new Cedars of Lebanon Hospital was very big. It could hold 279 patients and had all the parts of a modern hospital.

Mount Sinai Hospital's Journey

Meanwhile, in 1918, another group called the Bikur Cholim Society opened a small hospice. A hospice is a place that cares for people who are very sick. They opened it during the Great Influenza Pandemic. In 1921, this hospice moved and became Bikur Cholim Hospital with eight beds.

On November 7, 1926, it was renamed Mount Sinai Hospital. It moved to a new building with 50 beds. Later, in 1950, a brand new Mount Sinai Hospital was built. This was on land given by Emma and Hyman Levine. They bought the land and gave it to the hospital.

Two Hospitals Become One

In 1961, Cedars of Lebanon Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital joined together. They became the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. They merged because Los Angeles was growing, and medical care was getting more advanced.

A big donation of $4 million from the Max Factor Family helped build the main hospital. Construction started in 1972, and the new building opened in 1976. While the main hospital was being built, a mental health center called the Thalians Mental Health Center was also constructed. It was finished in 1973.

In 1994, the Cedars-Sinai Health System was created. This system includes the medical center and research parts. The Burns and Allen Research Institute is a big part of this. It's named after famous entertainers George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. This institute, opened in 1996, focuses on finding out what causes diseases.

In 2006, Cedars-Sinai added the Saperstein Critical Care Tower. This tower has 150 beds for patients who need very serious care. In 2013, the hospital opened its Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion. This large building brings patient care and research together in one place. It has programs for brain health, heart health, and stem cell research. It also has surgery rooms and an education center.

Hospital Rankings

Cedars-Sinai is known as one of the best hospitals in the United States. In 2022–23, U.S News ranked Cedars-Sinai as the best hospital in California. It was also ranked the 2nd best in the entire United States, just behind Mayo Clinic.

Here's how Cedars-Sinai ranked in different medical areas in 2022–23:

Specialty Ranking
Cancer 11
Cardiology and Heart Surgery 3
Diabetes and Endocrinology 12
Ear, Nose, and Throat (Otolaryngology) 3
Gastroenterology and GI surgery 2
Geriatrics 10
Neurology and Neurosurgery 7
Obstetrics and Gynecology 15
Orthopedics 3
Pulmonology and Lung Surgery 3
Urology 3

The Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute was also chosen as one of the top 25 hospitals in the U.S. for heart bypass surgery by Worth magazine.

Medical Research at Cedars-Sinai

Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles Mark Goodson Building Los Angeles County California 2024 Feb
Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles, Mark Goodson Building (2024)

Cedars-Sinai is a leader in medical research. Scientists here work to turn new discoveries into successful treatments for patients around the world. They study things like stem cells, how our bodies fight off sickness (immunology), how our brains work (neuroscience), and our genes (genetics). This helps them find new ways to understand and treat diseases. In 2020–21, the hospital spent $252 million on research.

Some of the important research areas at Cedars-Sinai include:

  • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (using computers to help doctors)
  • Cancer Research
  • Heart Research
  • Diabetes and Obesity Research
  • Neurosciences Research (brain and nervous system)
  • Regenerative Medicine Research (growing new tissues and organs)
  • Women's Health Research

Cedars-Sinai Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

The Cedars-Sinai Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is a special school at the medical center. It started in 2008. This school offers advanced degrees like PhDs and Masters in medical and healthcare fields. Over 100 teachers work here, and more than 150 students are enrolled.

Students learn in classrooms and do research in labs. Many of the research projects happen at the Burns and Allen Research Institute. This institute is inside the Barbara and Marvin Davis Research Building. It opened in 1996 and focuses on finding the causes of diseases. New research labs were also added in 2013 in the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion. This building helps bring patient care and research together.

The school offers these programs:

  • PhD Program:
    • Biomedical Sciences
  • Masters Programs:
    • Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
    • Health Delivery Science
  • Professional Training Programs:
    • Postdoctoral Scientist Program (for doctors who want to do more research)
    • Clinical Scholars Program
    • Research Internship Program (for students to get hands-on experience)

Famous Staff at Cedars-Sinai

Many talented doctors and scientists have worked at Cedars-Sinai. Here are a few:

  • Keith Black is a brain surgeon. He has done over 4,000 brain surgeries and made big steps in neurosurgery.
  • David Ho was a resident doctor here. He saw some of the first cases of what we now call AIDS.
  • Verne Mason was an important doctor who studied internal medicine. He gave the disease sickle cell anemia its name.
  • David Rimoin was a leader in genetics. He studied dwarfism and bone problems. He also helped find a way to test for Tay–Sachs disease, which greatly reduced this deadly disease.
  • Jeremy Swan helped invent a special tool called the pulmonary artery catheter. This tool helps doctors check a patient's heart and lung health.

Art Collection at the Hospital

Cedars-Sinai has a large and beautiful art collection. It started in 1976 with gifts from people who loved art, Frederick and Marcia Weisman. The collection has more than 4,000 original paintings, sculptures, and prints. You can see works by famous artists like Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Robert Rauschenberg.

Most of the art is always on display around the hospital campus. You can find large sculptures in courtyards and walkways. All the art pieces are gifts from donors, other organizations, or even the artists themselves.

There is also a statue of Moses in the parking lot. The two stone tablets he holds are blank. People often ask why Moses is there. The hospital explains that the statue shows the history of the two hospitals merging.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Centro Médico Cedars-Sinaí para niños

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