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Q: Health Care ( Answered 4 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Health Care
Category: Health
Asked by: rgerber-ga
List Price: $25.00
Posted: 22 Sep 2004 13:43 PDT
Expires: 22 Oct 2004 13:43 PDT
Question ID: 404919
What is the difference between a simple "hospital" and a "Medical Center?"
Answer  
Subject: Re: Health Care
Answered By: crabcakes-ga on 22 Sep 2004 22:54 PDT
Rated:4 out of 5 stars
 
Good question! 

The short answer is, there is no difference! Not really. The words are
used interchangeably, Today you will find small 30 bed hospitals
calling themselves a ?Medical Center? and huge urban facilities
calling themselves  a ?hospital?.  I recently drove by a very small
facility in rural Colorado, comprised of modular housing units
connected with wooden walkways. The sign out front said ?Medical
Center?! However, at one time, a Medical Center was a collection of
services or hospitals, in close proximity and who shared resources. In
the last 20-30 years, it generally means a large hospital, with a
multitude of services, but the term is not restricted to large
facilities.

 ?Q.  What is the definition of a ?hospital??
An institution with at least six beds whose primary function is to
?deliver patient services, diagnostic and therapeutic, for particular
or general medical conditions? (AHA).
?Must be licensed
?Must have an organized physician staff
?Must provide continuous nursing services under the supervision of
registered nurses (RNs).

Q.  What is a ?medical center??
Generally used by some hospitals to reflect their high level of
specialization and wide scope of services, which may include teaching
and research.
There is no standard or legal definition for the term ?medical center.?

Q. What is a ?hospital system? or ?health system??
Hospital system implies a group (two or more) of hospitals all under
common ownership.
Health system implies a continuum of health care services is available.
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:CuRyWnzdBd0J:www.bhsu.edu/businesstechnology/btfaculty/sandersen/Class%2520Resources/Classes/HSAD305/HSAD%2520305%2520Chpt8.ppt+%22the+term+medical+center%22&hl=en

The above can be found on the above cached page, or downloaded as a MS
Power Point slide show here:
www.bhsu.edu/businesstechnology/btfaculty/
sandersen/Class%20Resources/Classes/HSAD305/HSAD%20305%20Chpt8.ppt


From The College of  Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University
comes the source of the term ?medical center?
?One problem that arose was what to call it. It was clearly more than
just a hospital, comprising as it did not only Presbyterian Hospital
but also Babies Hospital, the Sloane Hospital for Women, the
Neurological Institute, the Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Institute,
and others, so the term Medical Center was coined. Now, of course,
practically every hospital calls itself a medical center, but in those
days there was just one, and if you got into a taxicab in the late
?20s or early ?30s and said, ?Take me to the Medical Center,? this was
where they took you.?
http://cumc.columbia.edu/news/journal/journal-o/fall-2003/spirit.html

Found on  a cached page from 1998, Erie County, NY.
?Wherever used in this charter, the term Erie county medical center or
the term medical center shall be deemed to include the Erie county
home  and infirmary unless otherwise stated.?
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:rWZZKQNVSOgJ:www.courts.state.ny.us/8jd/locallaws/1998-5.pdf+%22the+term+medical+center%22&hl=en



City of Fort Collins states the meaning of a medical center is : ?
Medical Center: Any facility operated for the diagnosis, care and
treatment of human disease, illness or injury, and to which persons
are not normally admitted for overnight stay. The term ?medical
center? shall also include dental clinics.?

http://www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/water/pdf/crossconnection.pdf


I also tried looking up the meaning of ?health center?, which to me,
means an outpatient facility, and not a hospital or a medical center.
Looking up define: health center, we are returned with the following
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&c2coff=1&q=define%3A+health+center&btnG=Search

Some of the results:
A facility, physically separated from a hospital, with a full range of
ambulatory services including at least primary care physicians,
nursing, pharmacy, laboratory, and x-ray, which are available at least
40 hours a week for outpatient care.
www.ihs.gov/AboutIHS/ThisGlossary.asp

An organization providing primary care, specialty care, ancillary care
services, and other services. Typically, health centers are owned and
operated by community-based organizations.
www.tnpca.org/data_glossary.html

Means an approved facility utilized by a health unit for the provision
of public health services, including related facilities such as
laboratories and clinics.
www.myflorida.com/myflorida/business/learn/buypurchasersfedsurpsurpdefs.html



I tried looking uo the words ?hospital? and ?medical center? on
several online dictionaries.

Visit VisualThesaurus.com, and enter the word ?medical center?. You?ll
get this definition ?the part of a city where medical facilities are
centered?. Enter ?Hospital? and you will see the larger picture. This
site is a pay per use site, so you will only get 2-3 chances to try
this for free. You can get the same definitions on most online
dictionary, but this one lets you visualize the ?center?
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Etymology of the word ?Hospital?
?A hospital was originally a house where pilgrims or travelers could
stay or be entertained (synonym: hospice), so the host offering
shelter to such people was said to be showing them hospitality. That
word dates from the middle of the 14th century, a time when many
pilgrimages were being made to holy sites?
http://www.takeourword.com/Issue075.html

Some definitions of ?Hospital? using this search term on Google
Define:hospital
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&c2coff=1&q=define%3A+hospital&btnG=Search

?Hospital? means an institution licensed as a hospital and operated
for the care and treatment of resident In-patients with a registered
graduate nurse (R.N.) always on duty and with a laboratory and
operating room (either on the premises or in facilities controlled by
the hospital) where surgical operations are performed by a legally
qualified surgeon. In no event shall the term "hospital" or "general
active treatment hospital" mean any hospital or institution or part of
such hospital or institution licensed or used principally as a clinic,
continued care or extended care facility, convalescent home,
rehabilitation centre, rest home, nursing home or home for the aged,
health spa or treatment centre for drug addicts or alcoholics.
www.pac.bluecross.ca/travel/daily/definitions.html

Hospital: A lawfully operated institution that provides: a staff of
one or more physicians on call at all times; its own operating room
and related equipment for surgery (except hospitals for mental health
care, chemical dependency and rehabilitation); inpatient care of the
sick and injured; and 24-hour nursing care.
www.choiceplus.com/Glossary.htm

Hospital: An institution for the care and treatment of ill, injured,
infirm, mentally abnormal, or deformed persons, with organized
facilities for diagnosis and surgery and providing 24-hour nursing
service and medical supervision. In some hospital policies,
institutions for the treatment of mentally ill persons are expressly
excluded from the definition of hospital.
www.imethodsusa.com/researchcenter/glossaries/life&health/Hlhgloss.html


Using the term
 define:medical center 
returned one simple definition!
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=define%3A+medical+center&btnG=Google+Search

According to JCAHO, who accredits hospitals AND medical centers,
calling them all ?hospitals? there is no listing for ?Medical Center?
on their site, giving the following as a definition for ?hospital?:
?hospital: A health care organization that has a governing body, an
organized medical staff and professional staff, and inpatient
facilities and provides medical, nursing, and related services for ill
and injured patients 24 hours per day, seven days per week. For
licensing purposes, each state has its own definition of a hospital.
http://www.jcaho.org/pms/core+measures/d_appendix_d.pdf


No definition of ?medical center? at the Merriam Webster Dictionary site
http://m-w.com/


Types of Hospitals
General or Specialized Hospitals. There are over 6,500 hospitals in
the United States. The majority of them are "general" hospitals set up
to deal with the full range of medical conditions for which most
people require treatment.

Teaching or Community Hospitals. Large teaching/research hospitals
have a variety of goals. In addition to treating patients, they are
training sites for physicians and other health professionals.

Nonprofit or For-Profit Hospitals. The important question here is, Who
owns the hospital? Is it a voluntary, proprietary or
government-supported facility? Even though the quality of care varies
widely within each of these categories, knowing who owns the hospital
may give you some insight into other questions to ask.
http://www.americanhospitals.com/hospitals/hospitalsequal.htm


Defining hospitals in Colorado
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hf/static/hospital.htm

Entymology of ?hospital?  Comes from Middle English, hospice, from Old
French ospital, from Medieval Latin hospitle, from neuter of Latin
hospitlis, of a guest, from hospes, hospit-, guest.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/82/H0288200.html

Mount Sinai Medical Center says ?Founded in 1852, The Mount Sinai
Hospital is one of the country's oldest and largest voluntary teaching
hospitals.?
http://www.mountsinai.org/msh/about_us.jsp


This list of USA  ?Hospitals? includes hospitals and medical centers
http://adams.mgh.harvard.edu/hospitalwebusa.html

I hope this has cleared things up for you! If any part of my answer is
unclear, please request an Answer Clarification, before rating. This
will allow me to assist you further, if possible.

Regards,
crabcakes

Search Terms
"the term medical center"
difference hospital medical center
hospitals + medical centers
define: hospital
define: medical center
Etymology hospital 
Etymology medical center
rgerber-ga rated this answer:4 out of 5 stars
Gives me material I can massage for my presentation, but did not
provide definitive sourcing.

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