Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital is the largest medical institution in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. The hospital was established in 1939 in Kaunas

Kaunas

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...

, Lithuania's second largest city. As of 2008 the hospital was governed by habilitated doctor Professor Juozas Pundzius.

History

During the interwar period, Lithuanian politicians and medical experts perceived a need for a major hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

 complex in the area, and gathered to discuss the possibility on February 5, 1936. Soon afterwards the Lithuanian cabinet adopted a resolution to build a hospital near the VII fort

Kaunas Fortress

Kaunas Fortress is the remains of a fortress complex in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was constructed and renovated between 1882 and 1915 to protect the Russian Empire's western borders, and was designated a "first-class" fortress in 1887...

. An international competition was held to select the best project. Six different proposals were submitted, two of them from outside Lithuania. The commission chose proposal "XXX", by the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

s Urbain Cassan and Elie Ouchanoff.

The development of the hospital quickly gained momentum. Urbain Cassan met with physicians to gather feedback and hear specific requests and proposals for the arrangement of rooms. These discussions went on for about ten days. The building commission acted in coordination to review the designs and sketches, which resulted in redesigns of, and improvements to, several aspects of the initial proposal. In 1937 the cornerstone

Cornerstone

The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...

 was laid, marking the active phase of construction. The work continued until July 1939; it employed several of the newest building technologies. The hospital complex comprised six buildings, covering about 160,000 square meters, including a 75-meter-tall chimney

Chimney

A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...

. Its major buildings were linked through underground tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

s, with a total length of one kilometer. Cork

Cork (material)

Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...

 was used as flooring in the corridors so as to minimize disturbances to patients. The hospital opened in 1940.

When Lithuania was occupied during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the hospital was adjusted to meet its new needs. The buildings were redecorated with camouflage

Camouflage

Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

 colors. After the war the hospital underwent further expansion. In 1967 a medical research and laboratory complex was built, followed in 1972 by an obstetrical and gynaecology

Gynaecology

Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...

 center, and a few years an eye-care clinic was added. Between 1976 and 1982 a cardiac clinic and a neurosurgery

Neurosurgery

Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...

 center were constructed, and gardens were planted.

The University Hospital complex consisted in 2008 of 15 buildings where approximately two thousand patients could be treated simultaneously. On May 7, 2008 Kaunas University Hospital was declared a cultural monument.

Major clinics

• Eye care
• Obstetrics and gynecology
• Ear, nose, and throat
• Anesthesia
  Anesthesia
  Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away...
  
  
• Surgery
  Surgery
  Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
  
  
• Endocrinology
  Endocrinology
  Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
  
  
• Heart, chest and vein surgery
• Oncology
  Oncology
  Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
  
  
• Cardiology
  Cardiology
  Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
  
  
• Rehabilitation
• Consultation
• Psychiatry
  Psychiatry
  Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...