History

Established in 1863, Harper University Hospital is among America’s oldest and most highly regarded teaching institutions. During nearly 150 years in Detroit, Harper has made significant contributions to medicine and research. Here’s a timeline of noteworthy events, breakthroughs and “firsts” at Harper University Hospital.

1863 – Harper Hospital (now Harper University Hospital) is founded. One of its first tasks is treating wounded Civil War soldiers.

1868 – Harper begins serving as a teaching hospital for Wayne State University School of Medicine, making it Michigan’s oldest teaching hospital.

1901– Harper University Hospital obtains its first x-ray equipment, then called “Skyography.” The hospital soon begins using x-rays to destroy cancer cells.

1952 – Harper University Hospital is the site of the world’s first successful open-heart surgery using a mechanical heart bypass pump. The pump was developed by an automotive engineer, GM scientists and Harper Hospital physician Dr. Forest Dodrill.

1964 – Jerome Horwitz, Ph.D., synthesizes Azidothymidine (AZT) in a Michigan Cancer Foundation lab at Harper University Hospital. Originally designed as an anticancer drug, AZT later becomes the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of AIDS.

1967 – Dr. Jerome Horwitz creates dideoxycytidine (ddC). Years later, it becomes the second cancer drug approved for AIDS patients.

1987 – The Vaitkevicius Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Center is built adjacent to Harper University Hospital. The facility uses state-of the-art equipment to detect tumors.

1991 – The world’s first superconducting cyclotron for cancer treatment is installed in the Gershenson Radiation Oncology Center at Harper University Hospital.

1995 – The Department of Neurological Surgery debuts Gamma Knife technology, making Harper University Hospital the first in Michigan to offer non-invasive treatment for brain tumors.

1999 – Harper launches Stroke Risk Assessment and Prevention Program (STRAP), the first program of its kind in Michigan.

2004 – Harper’s Department of Neurological Surgery is first in Michigan to offer Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (iMRI).

2004 – Harper’s Solid Organ Transplant Team is first in Michigan to perform kidney transplants on HIV recipients.

2004 – Harper University Hospital becomes the only hospital in Michigan with FDA approval to train physicians on how to perform a new, carotid artery stenting procedure with embolic protection system.

2004 – Harper University Hospital opens Michigan's only Center for Sarcoidosis.

2004 through 2010 – Harper is named to the U.S. News & World Report “America’s Best Hospitals” ranking for Neurology and Neurosurgery in 2004 and continues on the ranking for consecutive years through 2010.

2005– Harper University Hospital becomes first in Michigan (and second in the country) to be certified as a “Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery” by the JCAHO.

2005 – Harper University Hospital purchases and installs a 64-Slice CT scanner, one of the first in Michigan.

2007 – Harper purchases and installs a 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner.

2009 – Harper purchases and installs a 1.5T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner.

2007 through 2009– Harper University Hospital is named a “Leapfrog Top Hospital” by the Leapfrog Group in 2007 and continues on the prestigious ranking through 2009.

2008 – Richard T. Klapchar, D.O. joins Harper University Hospital as chief of Otolaryngology and begins a renaissance of the hospital’s ENT program.

2008 – Harper University Hospital and the DMC launch Cardio Team One, the nation’s first 24/7 heart attack response team.

2009 – Harper establishes the Cardiovascular Institute, a world-class heart and vascular center that offers Michigan’s most comprehensive cardiovascular services and treatments.

2009 – Harper University Hospital is certified as a “Center of Excellence for Stroke.”

2009 – Harper University Hospital is named to the U.S. News & World Report “America’s Best Hospitals” ranking for Heart and Heart Surgery in 2009.