CLEVELAND – Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the country, officially celebrates 120 years of caring for Cleveland’s children this Thanksgiving Day.
Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s legacy traces back to nine young women from prominent, wealthy families in Cleveland, who gathered together on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 to discuss how they could help the children of the city’s poor. These women called themselves the “Rainbow Circle of King’s Daughters.”
For the first three years, these women worked by aiding “worthy” destitute families, furnishing them with food and clothing, and helping them to pay rent and find employment. In 1891, they raised enough money to fulfill their dream and opened Rainbow Cottage, a healthy place for children to recover from illness. Rainbow Cottage changed its name to Rainbow Hospital for Crippled and Convalescent Children in 1914.
Babies Dispensary & Hospital opened in 1907. Babies & Children’s (B&C) Hospital opened in 1925 and was the academic arm of the pediatrics program at Western Reserve University School of Medicine (now Case Western Reserve University). Both Rainbow and B&C were affiliated with University Hospitals by the late 1920’s.
Since opening in 1887, Rainbow is credited for many firsts in the field of pediatrics including, developing the first baby formulas, opening the first cystic fibrosis center in the country and opening among the first neonatal intensive care units to treat premature infants.
To honor the occasion, two long-time physicians, Samuel J. Horowitz, M.D. and Carl F. Doerschuk, M.D., teamed up with a former UH archivist, Nancy C. Erdey, Ph.D., to publish a 260-page history book, For the Children, sharing the deep-rooted heritage of the hospital.
Dr. Horwitz led the effort in compiling the historical data and anecdotes shared in the book.
“It was a labor of love,” said Horwitz, a neurologist who previously served as interim chairman of pediatrics for Rainbow (1992-1995). “There is such a rich history to share, and it runs alongside the history of Cleveland, and northeast Ohio. Rainbow Babies & Children’s has been caring for the community’s children for 120 years, and when you look back at all that has changed, not only in medicine, but also in the socioeconomic environment, it truly is amazing to see how far we have come, and to know that we are now among the best children’s hospitals in the country.”
In 1971, Rainbow Hospital merged with Babies & Children’s and the new Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital was born, complete with a new building on the UH campus, and over the past 36 years has grown into what is now the best children’s hospital in the Midwest.
“Medicine has come so far, and this institution has been leading the way in every aspect of healthcare for many, many years,” said Dalia Zemaityte, who has worked in nursing administration at Rainbow since 1960. “We have championed the rights of our patients, our families, and we have continued to raise the bar every step of the way. This book, For the Children, truly captures the spirit of our legacy.”
For the Children is a hard-covered coffee table-size book that is being sold online at www.rainbowbabies.org and at Joseph Beth Books at Legacy Village for $50. Production of the book was underwritten by philanthropic donations and all proceeds benefit Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. For more information, call 216-767-8563.