Mount Sinai Health System history

In 1855, that vision came to fruition with the establishment of the 45-bed Jews' Hospital in New York in what was then a rural neighborhood on West 28th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

After this, to reflect its broadened mission and to ensure its eligibility for state and city support, the Jews' Hospital formally abandoned its sectarian charter in 1866 and was renamed The Mount Sinai Hospital.

In 1881, a training school for nurses was established, introducing professional nursing care to a facility previously served by untrained male and female attendants.

1887—Published the first description in the United States on familial amaurotic idiocy, later renamed Tay-Sachs disease.

1888—Published the first book in the United States on aseptic and antiseptic principles.

1892—Performed the first successful mastoidectomy in the United States.

1901—Performed the first successful abdominal colectomy for colitis in the United States.

In an effort to help the hospital’s patients balance their medical and social needs, a department of Social Work Services was created in 1907.

1908—Published the first mention of using a blood test for compatibility before human blood transfusion.

1910—Identified endemic form of typhus fever (Brill's disease).

1911—Developed the first cystoscope for children.

In August of 1913, four immigrant women from Toronto’s Jewish community started knocking on neighbourhood doors to raise money for a hospital.

1914—Invented the first modern electric ophthalmoscope.

1915—Described the minimum amount of citrate required to prevent blood from clotting, making indirect transfusion possible and practical, and allowing blood to be stored for later transfusion.

The latter is supported by the Auxiliary Board, which was formed in 1916 to provide financial support and labor resources to social service-related activities at the Hospital.

1919—Introduced the use of peruterine insufflation of the fallopian tubes for the diagnosis and treatment of sterility in women (Rubin test.

1923—Became the first in the United States to publish on gastrectomy—a new surgical procedure for duodenal ulcers.

1924—Published description of atypical verrucous endocarditis, Libman-Sacks disease.

1925—Published the first textbook in the United States on thoracic surgery.

1926—Developed test to measure estrogen levels in circulating blood.

1929—Developed the first cardiac stress test, the Master Two-Step.

1930—Published the first textbook in the United States on pediatric urology.

1932—Published the first description of regional enteritis—an inflammatory disease of the intestine (Crohn's disease).

1933—Published the first description of a total pneumonectomy in the United States.

1934—Described the first clinically applicable method for measuring the circulation time to the right heart.

1935—Published the first description of the vascular lesions in lupus.

1940—Published the first description of eosinophilic granuloma of bone as a distinct entity.

1942—Published the first description of collagen disease.

1944—Inhibited tumor growth by using a folic acid concentrate.

1947—Performed the first kidney dialysis in the United States, using a Kolff artificial kidney.

1949—Published first description of allergic granulomatosis (Churg-Strauss disease).

1950—Developed a portable kidney dialysis machine.

1951—Became the first to perform closed mitral valve commissurotomy.

1952—Perfected and reintroduced surgery for the mobilization of the stapes.

1956—Developed and standardized the latex fixation test for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

1959—Created polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for separating proteins.

1960—Published the first description of postperfusion syndrome after open-heart surgery.

1962—Became the first to use a sequential combination regimen of chemotherapy for adjuvant treatment of ovarian cancer.

1963—Became the first to use a sequential combination regimen of chemotherapy for adjuvant treatment of breast cancer.

1964—Established etiologic link between asbestos and cancer.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine opened in 1968 in affiliation with The City University of New York.

1969—Developed an influenza vaccine—the first genetically engineered vaccine.

1971—Discovered that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) could induce cancer cells to progress or differentiate to a normal pattern of development.

1985—Provided the first direct evidence of the involvement of dopamine in schizophrenia.

1986—Performed the first blood transfusion into the vein of an unborn fetus.

1995—Developed an ultrasound-guided technique to insert radioactive seeds into the prostate to treat prostate cancer.

2000—Became the first to use black blood magnetic resonance imaging (BB-MR) to image the human coronary artery lumen.

2001—Developed a novel isothermal DNA amplification method with an amplification mechanism quite different from conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), resulting in an exponential amplification that distinguishes itself from the previously described nonexponential rolling circle amplification.

The opening years of the 21st century found The Mount Sinai Medical Center struggling financially, but by the end of the hospital’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2002, steps had already been taken to chart a new course.

2004—Identified the first common gene variant linked to autism.

2005— Performed the first successful composite tracheal transplant, using a method developed at Mount Sinai that allows patients to breathe and speak without a tracheotomy.

2006—Discovered a gene in the brain—OLIG2—that may play a causal role in the development of schizophrenia.

In 2007, the school began accepting 140 students in each first year class and there are now more than 300 graduate students at any point in time.

2010—Presented research showing that the World Trade Center collapse caused potentially dangerous heart problems to first responders.