Brookdale History

Brookdale History

It's hard to believe that The Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, one of the largest nonprofit voluntary teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, began as just one small building rising amid the vacant fields and scattered farms where the towns of Brownsville, East New York and Canarsie come together.

Today, the hospital covers a 14-acre campus plus six ambulatory care sites , with over 30 buildings devoted to inpatient, ambulatory, long-term care and emergency medicine, and has the latest technology for service to oour community.

The original building has endured and so too has the spirit and philosophy of the men and women who struggled to build, equip and staff what they termed a haven of healing for all who needed it.

While it was "small change"--literally nickels, dimes and the occasional dollar--that the founders collected to build their hospital, there was nothing small about their vision. Members of the Jewish community wanted a hospital that served people of all races and creeds in a humanitarian manner.

Here are a few highlights from more than 75 years of excellence:

The Brooklyn Eagle, April 11, 1921, reports that the Brownsville and East New York Hospital opened with 75 beds.
In 1928, a new four-story Maternity Pavilion is completed, bringing beds to 170.
During the 1930s, the hospital extends services beyond East New York.
Renamed Beth-El Hospital in 1932.
In the 1940s, famed physicians join staff: Dr. Harold Neuhoff, Dr. Bela Schick, Dr. Isidore Snapper.
Physicians' residency programs and nursing training programs expand in the 1940s and the beginnings of today's extensive research programs take shape.
In 1954, new X-ray facilities are added; other expansion brings bed total to 390.

The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory opens in 1959.
Building expansion in the early 1960s, bringing beds up to 500.
In 1963, the name changes to The Brookdale Hospital Center; the hospital address becomes known as " Brookdale Plaza" in 1966.
Named The Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in 1971.
The Comprehensive Care Center Opens in 1971.
The Schulman and Schachne Institute for Nursing and Rehabilitation relocates to Brookdale in 1973.
The Community Mental Health Center opens in 1973.
The Radutzky Emergency Care Pavilion opens in 1982.
New kidney hemodialysis and ambulatory infusion units open in 1988.
Linroc Nursing Home opens in 1993.
Network of Brookdale Family Care Centers built for primary and preventive care in the community begins and is completed during the 1990s.
An AIDS Designated Center is established in 1993; it is later renamed the Treatment for Life Center.
In September 1995, Brookdale enters a partnership with Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and forms Neighborhood Health Providers (NHP) , a comprehensive Medicaid Managed Care program.
A neuroangiography suite is one of several new technological advances of the 1990s' major modernization program, which continues to update and modernize the facility and its clinical programs.
1997 saw the ground-breaking and construction of 87 units of senior citizen housing.
In 1997, the Linroc Nursing Home is renamed the Schulman and Schachne Institute for Nursing and Rehabilitation.
1998 brought the completion of a $200 million Major Modernization Project which includes state-of-the-art technology and major improvements to the facility's infrastructure all to take the institution well into the 21 st century.
The Arlene and David Schlang Pavilion, senior citizens housing for residents who can live independently and for those who require an Assisted Living Program opens its doors.

Brookdale turns the century by becoming part of the MediSys Health Network joining Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center.
Brookdale’s two nursing homes merge becoming the Schulman and Schachne Institute for Nursing and Rehabilitation.
The Schulman and Schachne Institute Adult Health Care Program opens its doors.
The Radutzky Emergency Care Pavilion completes a major expansion in 2004.
In 2005 Brookdale becomes a 911 receiving Stroke Center
In 2006 Advanced Bariatric Care Center for Healthy Weight Loss opens its doors.
The Alumni Hall Auditorium is renamed the Sonja and Dr. Alvin I. Kahn Auditorium in the fall of 2006.