SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Established	1860
President	John C. LaRosa, MD, FACP
Students	1,694
Other students	1,040 residents
Location	Brooklyn, New York 40.6554°N 73.9457°W / 40.6554; -73.9457
Website	http://www.downstate.edu

SUNY Downstate Medical Center, located in central Brooklyn, New York, is the only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care serving Brooklyn’s 2.5 million residents. As of Fall 2011, it had a total student body of 1,694 and approximately 8,000 faculty and staff.

Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, Colleges of Nursing and Health Related Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, and University Hospital of Brooklyn, as well as a Student Center and student and nursing residences. It also includes a major research complex and biotechnology facilities.

SUNY Downstate ranks ninth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City graduated from Downstate than from any other medical school. With 1,040 residents (young physicians in training), Downstate's residency program is the 16th largest in the country.

The College of Nursing offers graduate programs in all major tracks. The College of Health Related Professions has the oldest midwifery program in the nation. The School of Graduate Studies provides basic science education and research training. The School of Public Health offers programs focused on the health of urban and immigrant populations.

History

2010 is SUNY Downstate's sesquicentennial, celebrating 150 years in medical education. Sesquicentennial Site ‎

In 2010 SUNY Downstate celebrated its sesquicentennial, commemorating the year that the Long Island College Hospital (as it was then known) first opened its doors to students. Yet Downstate traces its roots back even further (to 1856) when a small group of physicians set up a free dispensary in Brooklyn to care for poor immigrants.

Known as the German General Dispensary, its original aim was to care for indigent Germans living in Brooklyn, but changing demographics soon required it to broaden its outreach. In 1857 it was reorganized as a charitable institution and renamed The St. John’s Hospital—the first of many name changes.

Officially chartered by the state in 1858 as the Long Island College Hospital of the City of Brooklyn, it was authorized to operate a hospital and confer medical degrees on candidates who attended two lecture courses and completed a three-year preceptorship under a practicing physician. The notion that care at the hospital bedside should be included as an essential part of medical training was revolutionary for its time, but other medical schools soon adopted the approach and it came to be regarded as essential pedagogy.

In 1860 the school officially opened its doors to 57 (male) students. It was one of only 11 medical schools to admit African American students. The first faculty included many distinguished physicians, such as Dr. Austin Flint, Sr., remembered for his role in introducing the stethoscope into standard medical practice in this country. Dr. Flint delivered the commencement address on July 24, 1860, when the school graduated its first new doctors.

In the following decades The Long Island College Hospital greatly expanded both its facilities and medical school curriculum. By the time of the First World War, admission was opened to women and postgraduate training had been introduced. In 1930 the college and hospital were separated from one another so that each would be under its own governing board. The following year, the school was rechartered as the Long Island College of Medicine; the hospital retained its name and continues to operate to this day. Affiliations with other Brooklyn hospitals, including Kings County Hospital, made it possible for the college to conduct much of its clinical teaching at locations throughout the borough.

In 1945, the college purchased a large tract of land that would become the site of the future Downstate Medical Center. The “Downstate” era began on April 5, 1950, with the signing of a merger contract between the State University of New York (SUNY) and the Long Island College of Medicine. The medical center came to be known as Downstate to distinguish it from the SUNY medical center in Syracuse, New York, which is known as “Upstate.” Several years later the current campus was built in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

In 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower laid the cornerstone for the Basic Sciences Building. In the following years, the complex grew rapidly, with the addition of a student center and residence halls, as well as a nurses' residence. In 1966 Governor Nelson Rockefeller officiated at the dedication of University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB), Downstate’s own teaching hospital. The School of Graduate Studies, the College of Health Related Professions, and the College of Nursing were established that same year. In 1987 Governor Mario Cuomo and Mayor Edward Koch helped break ground for the new Health Science Education Building, where most student classes now take place.

Since the arrival of John C. LaRosa, MD, in 2000 as SUNY Downstate’s new president, the medical center has entered a period of renewed growth and expansion. In addition to the completion of a multimillion capital improvement program for the hospital, and the addition of new clinical and research facilities, the campus has expanded to include a Biotechnology Park and Advanced Biotechnology Incubator, and School of Public Health.

Designed for start-up and early-stage biotech companies, it includes a commercial synthetic chemistry facility. Plans are underway to develop biotech research and manufacturing at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. These initiatives are part of a strategic plan to position SUNY Downstate as the center for biomedical discovery and development in Brooklyn.

Additionally, in 2011, Downstate acquired Long Island College Hospital, bringing the two institutions back together. This added over 500 additional beds to the University Hospital of Brooklyn. It also brings the number of campuses of the University Hospital of Brooklyn to three, when including the UHB ambulatory health center at Bay Ridge.

Academic profile

SUNY Downstate offers students a broad professional education that prepares them for practice or careers in any location and community. The vast majority of students are drawn from the New York City metropolitan area. Many have immigrant backgrounds and are members of racial and cultural groups who are underrepresented in the health professions. The differences in background and outlook enchance the quality of the educational experience of all students.

Downstate's Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Related Professions and its School of Graduate Studies and School of Public Health collectively offer more than 30 health-focused programs. Statistical profiles of each of the colleges and schools can be found at http:/sls.downstate.edu/institutional_research/statistical_portraits/2010/html/.

College of Medicine

The College of Medicine, which grants the MD degree, is the 32nd oldest college of medicine in the country. With approximately 800 enrollees, it is one of the largest colleges of medicine in New York State. It ranks 10th out of 134 accredited medical schools in the nation in the number of alumni who hold faculty positions at U.S. medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City graduated from Downstate's College of Medicine than from any other medical school.

In addition to granting the MD degree, the College sponsors a combined MD/PhD degree with the School of Graduate Studies.

School of Graduate Studies

Of the School's three multidisciplinary core programs, Neural and Behavioral Science is the oldest. Faculty research in the neurosciences is especially deep, ranging from the molecular to the behavioral. The Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology has concentrations in cardiovascular, fundamental cellular and molecular biology, cancer biology, and more. The Program in Biomedical Engineering, run jointly with the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, features concentrations in neurorobotics, imaging, and materials.

The School of Graduate Studies has also partnered with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CSNE) of the University at Albany to offer a combined MD/PhD degree program in nanoscale medicine. This clinical scientist education program provides hands-on training in the development and application of nanotechnology to advance health care. MD training at Downstate is coupled with PhD training in either nanoscale science or nanoscale engineering.

PhD Programs:

• Molecular and Cellular Biology
• Neural and Behavioral Science
• Biomedical Engineering

School of Public Health

The first new school established at SUNY Downstate since 1966, it was launched in 2001 as an MPH degree program within the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health in the College of Medicine. In 2008 it declared school status and was fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health in 2010. It currently offers five master's and three doctoral programs, as well as combined degree programs.

MPH and DrPH Programs

• Biostatistics (MPH only)
• Community Health Sciences
• Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
• Epidemiology
• Health Policy and Management (MPH only)

Combined Programs:

• MD/MPH
• OT/MPH
• PT/MPH

College of Health Related Professions

An upper-division undergraduate and graduate school, the College has graduated close to 4,000 allied health professionals since its establishment in 1966. Approximately 80 percent of students have four-year college degrees in other fields upon enrollment. It's direct-entry midwifery program was the first of its kind in the nation.

BS Programs:

• Diagnostic Medical Imaging
• Physician Assistant

MS Programs:

• Medical Informatics
• Midwifery
• Occupational Therapy

Combined Programs:

• BS/DPT in Physical Therapy

Advanced Certificate Programs:

• Midwifery

College of Nursing

The College offers upper-division bachelor's, master's, and certificate programs in all advanced nursing specialties. Its RN-to-BS Program is one of the largest in New York State. The Accelerated BS Program offers students who hold a degree in another field basic preparation for beginning nursing practice.

• RN to BS
• Accelerated BS

MS Programs:

• Nursing (Clinical Nurse Specialist)
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner
• Nurse Anesthesia
• Nurse Midwifery

Advanced Certificate Programs:

• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Women’s Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

Patient care

Downstate's University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB) includes two full-service, comprehensive hospitals (UHB at Central Brooklyn and UHB at Long Island College Hospital) plus a free-standing Urgent Care and Ambulatory Surgery Center in Bay Ridge and nine ambulatory satellite sites. Annually, it provides care to over 300,000 patients.

University Hospital of Brooklyn at Central Brooklyn is an 8-story, 376-bed facility with 8 intensive care and step-down units, 12 operating rooms, an adult and pediatric ER, diagnostic and ambulatory surgery facility, and 75 outpatient clinics. The addition of Long Island College Hospital brings the total to nearly 900-beds and the ability to offer comprehensive advanced medical care throughout Brooklyn. UHB has three community-based health centers in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Midwood; an urgent care and ambulatory surgery center in Bay Ridge; plus a Dialysis Center in East Flatbush.

Specialized services

• Comprehensive cardiovascular services, including 24/7 angioplasty services and heart surgery;
• Comprehensive neurological services, including neurosurgery, diagnosis and treatment for stroke, epilepsy, sleep disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease;
• Adult/pediatric emergency services: the ER receives more than 68,906 patient visits a year [2010 data for University Hospital Central Brooklyn location];
• Kidney transplantation and dialysis – the only transplant and pediatric dialysis centers in Brooklyn.
• Sports medicine;
• HIV/AIDS treatment and support services — Downstate is a designated AIDS treatment center;
• Maternal and infant health—Downstate is a designated Regional Perinatal Center.

University Hospital of Brooklyn at Long Island College Hospital (UHB at LICH) is located in Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill. LICH merged with Downstate in the Spring of 2011.

Specialized services

• Othmer Cancer Center
• Comprehensive Stroke Center
• Pediatric and obstetric services
• Ambulance service that is part of the NYC 911 emergency dispatch system

SUNY Downstate at Bay Ridge serves the communities of Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Sunset Park. It features a walk-in Urgent Care Center, Ambulatory Surgery Center, Advanced Endoscopy Center, and Laser Vision Correction Center. It has onsite laboratory and radiology diagnostic facilities and medical offices for doctors in many clinical specialties.

Research

Research is one of SUNY Downstate’s primary missions. In 2010, funding for sponsored research, including programs funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), totaled close to $62 million.

Milestones in research

• 1955: Clarence Dennis, M.D., inventor of the heart-lung machine, performs first successful open heart surgery in New York State.
• 1964: Eli Friedman, M.D., establishes nation's first federally-funded dialysis program at University Hospital of Brooklyn.
• 1977: Raymond Damadian, M.D., produces first human images using magnetic resonance imaging.
• 1984: Henri Begleiter, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, publishes landmark study showing that the children of alcoholics may have a greater risk for alcoholism.
• 1986: SUNY Downstate conducts first federally funded study of HIV's transmission from mother to fetus.
• 1998: Dr. Robert Furchgott, distinguished professor emeritus of pharmacology, awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on nitric oxide.
• 2006: Drs. Todd Sacktor and Andre Fenton conduct research on maintenance of long-term potentiation and its implications on spatial memory storage, which is named one of the top scientific breakthroughs of the year by Science Magazine.

Recent Milestones

Neuroscience

With over 40 scientists studying the hippocampus, Downstate has one of the largest groups in the country exploring this area of neuroscience. Research by Todd Sacktor and Andre Fenton on the core molecular mechanism for memory storage was highlighted by Science magazine as one of the top 10 science breakthroughs of the year in 2006.

Genetics of alcoholism

The late Dr. Henri Begleiter was the first to define the role that genetics plays in the development of alcoholism. His research has helped redefine medical science’s view of alcoholism. The nine-site Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, which he spearheaded, is the world’s largest study of the genetics of alcoholism.

HIV treatment and research

In 1985, SUNY Downstate launched the first federally funded study of HIV transmission from mother to baby. Later, Dr. Howard Minkoff led the first federally funded study of the manifestations of AIDS in women. With funding from the NIH’s Fogarty International Center, Dr. Jack DeHovitz established the Central/East European HIV Education Center. To date, it has trained more than 5,300 health care workers in Central and Eastern Europe, and in Africa.

Research centers and major laboratories

• Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program
• Brooklyn Center for Health Disparities
• Center for Biomedical Imaging
• Center for Cardiovascular Muscle Research
• Center for Neurorobotics and Neuroengineering
• Center for Treatment and Study of Endometriosis
• Cancer Research Focus Group
• Henri Begleiter Neurodynamics Laboratory (Genetics of Alcoholism)
• HIV Center for Women and Children
• Northeast Terrorism Preparedness, Training, Education, and Research Center
• Transgenic Mouse Core Facility

Regional economic impact

SUNY Downstate Medical Center is the fourth largest employer in Brooklyn. Eighty-six percent of its employees are New York City residents; 68 percent live in Brooklyn. The medical center's total direct, indirect, and induced economic impact on New York State is in excess of $2 billion. SUNY Downstate Medical Center attracted more than $62 million in external research funding in 2011, which includes $26 million from federal sources. It ranks fourth among SUNY campuses in grant expenditures.

References in popular culture

• Mos Def, in his 1999 recording of "Got" uses the line "you takin' a ride on the Downstate Medical," indicating that the victim of a violent robbery might be transported by ambulance to SUNY Downstate to receive medical care.

External links

• Official Site
• SUNY Downstate Library Resources
• Brooklyn College B.A.-M.D. Program
• Clarence Dennis Papers (1927-2003) - National Library of Medicine finding aid
• The Clarence Dennis Collection - Profiles in Science, National Library of Medicine