HISTORY AND PRESETN OF MEDICAL INSTITUTION “CITY CLINICAL HOSPITAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES”

Medical institution "City Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases" in its development has passed a difficult way from the hospital to the provincial capital of modern health care institutions with the functions of the national center.

The official opening of the hospital took place on November 9, 1913, and on November 11the hospital took its first patients. By decision of the City Duma in under-populated area of Perespa, on the street Nikolaevsjaya (now st. Kropotkina) on the territory of 2 16 buildings, including three medical department of housing 60 beds, kitchen, boiler room, laundry room with mechanical disinfection chamber, concrete glacier and biological cleaner ha were built.

At the time of the opening staff of the hospital included 18 people: Senior (aka Head) doctor Tomkovich V.I., intern doctor Zhdanovich S.V., nurse Goverko; others were the younger staff.

In 1915, the hospital has increased capacity to 150 beds, and the number of staff - up to 38. In the years of revolution and civil war on the basis of the hospital infectious disease hospital of 700 beds was functioning. It was organized thanks to considerable merit of Chief physician Antoshin N.S., who died suddenly in 1920 of scarlet fever.

Due to population growth in the city of Minsk the hospital expanded: in 1935 two wooden buildings were built, and in 1938 the building with 19 individual boxes (first head appointed was doctor Filippovich A.N., later MD, Professor, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases). By 1940, the hospital was considered to be a model institution that had 450 full-time beds and more than 370 staff personnel, including, doctors – 32, nurses - 96 ward attendants – 140, consisted of nine medical offices, laboratories with clinical, biochemical and bacteriological departments, Admitting Department with boxes, disinfection unit with 2 disinfection chambers and other support services.

Since its opening, and for over 20 years, receiving patients was carried out in one admitting room. In 1934, separate admission of patients with three different infectious diseases was introduced. 2 doctors were on duty round the clock.

In addition to infectious departments there were the following departments in the hospital: up to 1925 - Hospital Therapy Clinic, tuberculosis ward; up to 1931 - Clinic of Skin and Venereal Diseases.

Since 1923, the hospital became a clinical base of the Medical Faculty of the Belarusian State University. After 1930 the Infectious Diseases Hospital was used as a base for the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Minsk Medical Institute and the Institute of Advanced Medical Training for students of higher and secondary medical educational institutions of the city, as well as special training and retraining of doctors of infectious diseases.

Due to the close creative collaboration with teams of medical departments and research institutions the hospital has become a major research center for testing and implementation of innovations in the field of medicine and pharmacology in the healthcare practice.

For almost 100 years of existence several generations of doctors, nurses and ward attendants have changed. We are proud to remember such famous hospital workers as Professor V.V. Kosmachevskiy, A.N. Filippovich, D.V. Poleshko, N.V. Bondareva, P.A. Novikov and others. For high production figures a number of health workers was awarded with orders and medals, honorary titles of "Honorary Doctor of the Republic of Belarus", "Excellence in health care"

During the Great Patriotic War, the hospital staff was actively involved in the national struggle for freedom and independence of their homeland. The hospital suffered irreplaceable losses. Part of its employees was killed at the front (the head doctor Drakin N.S., doctors Angilovich M.A., Aleshko C, nurse Bylina and others.), in partisan groups (nurses Semashko P.I., Stolyarova T.), others were executed by the occupation authorities, together with their family members for their participation in the struggle of the Minsk underground movement. During the retreat of German forces from the city two wooden buildings were burnt, and all the property and equipment was lost. After the liberation of the city in July 1944 began a gradual revival of the hospital, Professor V.V. Kosmachevskiy and the entire staff of the hospital took active part in the restoration of the hospital. The hospital was fairly quickly restored. By the end of 1944, its capacity was 400 beds.

Since the second half of the 50s began intensive construction. There were built: in 1958 - a new boiler in 1959 - 2-story medical building with 120 beds and in 1966, the 3-story medical building with 80 beds. By the end of 1966, the hospital had 625 beds and 608 staff personnel. 12 departments were operating, including 4 or 5 for children.

In 1972, the first of all  infectious disease hospitals of the USSR the hospital organized intensive care unit, which significantly improved the treatment and care of the seriously ill patients.

For more than 30 years after the war there has been a severe shortage of infectious beds. In 1987 a new Pediatric Infectious Clinical Hospital was opened, to where pediatric departments were transferred from the City Hospital for Infectious Diseases, the number of beds in which decreased to 250, thus improving the conditions of stay of patients. By the Order of the Ministry of Health of the Byelorussian SSR dated 25.03.1980 No 62 City Infectious Hospital has been awarded the status of the national center specialized in medical care to people with infectious diseases. In order to solve the problems of the infectious service over the past decade the Republican Centers were created : Anti-Sepsis (1992), Consultative and Diagnostic Toxoplasmosis (1993), Hepatology (for diagnosis and treatment of chronic  hepatitis (1997). Since 1995 hospital is the base for the treatment of HIV-positive and AIDS-positive patients.

To provide specialized medical care to patients the hospital is working hard to improve the material and technical equipment, the introduction of new methods and techniques in the practice of medical offices and functional and diagnostic units, the creation of comfortable conditions for inpatients and improving the quality of clinical nutrition.

Currently, health care institution "City Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases" is a small cozy green town with many buildings of clinical departments scattered around it, paraclinical units and auxiliary services. Today, the hospital has the emergency department, intensive care unit, two units for the treatment of viral hepatitis, therapeutic and diagnostic department, department for the treatment of intestinal infections, neuroinfections and airborne infections, as well as well-equipped functional and diagnostic units. In HIV Consultation and Observation Department consultations of HIV-positive patients are held.

Hospital capacity on 01.09.2007 is 230 beds. The main functions of the hospital: the organization of the diagnosis and treatment of adults with infectious and parasitic diseases, including HIV-infected individuals in the stages pre-AIDS and AIDS; conduct medical examination of patients with chronic hepatitis and persons with HIV infection, counseling patients on infectious and parasitic diseases; the provision of emergency and urgent therapeutic care for patients.

Two departments are operating on the basis of the hospital : Department of Infectious Diseases of the Belarusian State Medical University, led by Professor Karpov I.A. and Department of Infectious Diseases of the Belarusian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education (Head of Department, Professor Klyuchareva A.A.).

Today the hospital management committed itself to implementing a deep modernization of diagnostic and treatment process, expansion of cooperation with educational and research institutions of Minsk, aimed at improving the training of specialists for infectious services, improvement of current approaches to diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, to update the material and technical base .

Medical Institution "CITY CLINICAL HOSPITAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES" is an institution of the closed type, in which visits of relatives and friends of patients in clinical departments is NOT ALLOWED