Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago Book

Children's Memorial Hospital of Chicago by Stanford T. Shulman, MD

In 1886, the state-of-the-art surgery room of Truman W. Miller, MD, in

Chicago's first children's hospital had no electric lights, no antibiotics,

limited equipment, and only the most rudimentary anesthesia. This renowned

surgeon served on a voluntary basis as president of an all-volunteer medical

staff from 1882 to 1900. The hospital opened in 1882 as an eight-bed cottage in

Lincoln Park, when pediatrics was in its infancy. It was at the forefront then,

and it continues to be among the country's best. For over a century, it was

called Children's Memorial Hospital, and it was renamed Ann & Robert H. Lurie

Children's Hospital of Chicago in 2012, when it moved to a 288-bed facility in

the heart of the city. The hospital's history reflects the steady advances in

pediatrics, propelled by visionary individuals, pioneering clinicians, and the

community—all dedicated to the care and well-being of children.