Founded in 1920 by local residents responding to a flu epidemic, Southwest General has always been a hospital committed to supporting the community. We maintain strong ties to the Greater Cleveland area through our quality medical services, our partnerships with University Hospitals and local community organizations and our many community benefit programs promoting health and wellness.
Southwest General is home to nationally recognized physicians, state-of-the-art technology and a full range of medical, surgical and emergency services, including a Level III trauma center. Our services are designed to provide patients with care that addresses their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs.
At Southwest General, we have a long history of commitment to the health and wellbeing of our communities. Our mission statement reminds us of this commitment, first made by our founders when they opened the hospital so many decades ago:
We aim to be looked to by our communities as their first choice for advanced medicine and an exceptional health care experienceleading with unsurpassed quality, dynamic growth, innovative professionals, advanced facilities and supported by the financial performance to achieve this vision.
We pledge to continuously improve and to collaborate with other outstanding health care providers, so that we may be a trusted source for health and wellness services, bringing our care to members of our community, right where they live.
We strive to provide quality medical services to all who need us. Our unique partnering agreement with University Hospitals helps us continue to provide innovative patient care, including enhanced clinical services and program development. Additionally, it allows us to offer selected services of the following nationally renowned medical institutions:
We are proud of the many awards and recognition our hospital has received over the years, as they attest to the outstanding quality of care patients can expect at Southwest General. Additionally, we are pleased to be recognized as a leading employer in Cuyahoga County. We have been named one of the Top Workplaces by The Plain Dealer for eight consecutive years and one of the great workplaces for top talent in Northeast Ohio, having earned the NorthCoast 99 Award from the Employers Resource Council for fourteen years. For a full list of our awards, visit our achievements and recognition page.
For five years, until construction of the new hospital was completed, patients were cared for in Sprague Haven, an eight-bed facility established in a home formerly owned by the Sprague family in Berea.
The new community hospital opened on the corner of Bagley and Front streets in 1925. It had 32 beds and eight bassinets and sufficed until 1945 when the first addition was made to increase the capacity to 107 beds and 34 bassinets. Seven more additions and two name changes later, the hospital had grown to 166 beds. With no land remaining for expansion and a rapidly growing community to serve, a 22-acre site was purchased in neighboring Middleburg Heights upon which to construct a new 235-bed replacement hospital.
The new Southwest General Hospital was opened in 1975. It was constructed in part using funds from a self-imposed tax levy, supported by six communities in Southwest General's service area. The new facility, the health center's current location, was eventually expanded to 325 beds through an addition in 1983, 336 beds in 1994, 340 beds in 2000, 354 beds in 2006 and today stands at 352 beds.
Situated on Old Oak Boulevard, with grounds once graced by 200-year-old oak trees, the health center continues to use the oak tree as part of its logo. Through the years, the tree has come to symbolize the strength, endurance and growth that are the Southwest General heritage.
Southwest General is accredited by The Joint Commission, the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, the American Association of Blood Banks and the College of American Pathologists. It is a member of the Ohio Hospital Association and the Center for Health Affairs.
Additionally, Southwest Generals Trauma Service is verified by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma as a Level III trauma center. This verification recognizes that the Trauma Service has 24-hour, in-house coverage by highly specialized physicians and nurses prepared for the immediate treatment of the critically injured patient. The entire spectrum of care, from the pre-hospital phase through rehabilitation, is established to address the continuum of needs for the injured patient.
At Southwest General, our commitment to the community members we serve, and to an outstanding level of service, has been a defining feature of our health system since its founding in 1920. Here, you will find a list of the awards and recognition we have received. Each of these honors validates the high quality of care and service our health care professionals deliver.
Since its founding by local communities more than 100 years ago, Southwest General has enjoyed a unique partnership with the communities it serves. Today, the health center is supported by a self-imposed tax levy in Berea, Brook Park, Columbia Township, Middleburg Heights, Olmsted Falls and Strongsville. Representatives from these communities serve on Southwest General's board of trustees, helping to promote effective communication between the health center and its constituencies.
At Southwest General, our commitment to the health and wellness of the communities we serve is an essential part of our mission. On a regular basis, we conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment* to evaluate the health status of the communities we serve, identify health issues of greatest concern, and develop a strategy to most effectively use our resources to address identified health issues.
We are proud of our history of investing in community health programs, and we are dedicated to continuing to partner with our communities and with other organizations for a collaborative approach that offers the greatest possible impact on improving community health status.
* A Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) is a comprehensive approach to collecting qualitative and quantitative data about a geographic area to determine health status, identify health needs and highlight demographic and social issues contributing to health concerns. Conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and implementing a strategy to address the outstanding community health needs identified in the assessment is a requirement of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and part of the IRS 990 requirement for a not-for-profit health system.