Meyer Children's Hospital

Meyer Children's Hospital
Ospedale Pediatrico Meyer entrance
Geography
Location	Florence, Province of Florence, Italy
Coordinates	43°48′20.49″N11°14′51.77″E / 43.8056917°N 11.2477139°E / 43.8056917; 11.2477139 Coordinates: 43°48′20.49″N11°14′51.77″E / 43.8056917°N 11.2477139°E / 43.8056917; 11.2477139
Organisation
Type	Specialist
Affiliated university	University of Florence
Services
Speciality	Pediatrics
History
Opened	1884
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Italy
Other links	Teaching hospitals

The Meyer Children Hospital (Italian : Ospedale Pediatrico Meyer) is a pediatric hospital located in Florence, Italy.

The hospital is an official member of the European Network of Health Promoting Hospitals of the World Health Organization ^[1] and the personnel are involved in prevention and health promotion programs for the Regional and National Health Departments.

History

The origin of the Meyer Hospital dates back to the last century.^{[ which? ]} This project became real because of the initiative, enthusiasm and mostly for the generosity of a small group of people which lived in Florence or were linked by affection. As a matter of fact, in 1884 a group of noble Florentines ladies and numerous representatives of the foreign colony had the idea to found an hospital for poor children; some of the promoters who took part of this incredible proposal were the Princess Anna Corsini, Marquise Anna Maria Gerini, Baroness De Tschudy and Sir. Birmingham, wealthy American gentleman, who was most known in Florence for his philanthropic works. A substantial financial contribution was made by Commendator Giovanni Meyer, Russian gentleman, resident in Florence who was then nominated Marchese di Montagliari. Furthermore, the reason that allowed this dream to come true was the desire expressed by his deceased wife Anna born Fitzgerald, who wished a hospital to be founded in Florence in which sick children could be received, especially those suffering from congenital and acquired deformities. Thus, the site was chosen near the barrier^{[ clarification needed ]} of Le Cure  [ it ] and of Pino . ^{[ disambiguation needed ]} Besides on the outside part of the city was built in February 1887, the first center which was called “Spedalino Meyer” by Florentines. In 1888 Mr. Meyer donated the building to the municipality of Florence and this entrusted the care, use and operation of the building to the Santa Maria Nuova Arcispedale; ^[2] but due to the lack of internal equipment and the hindrance of numerous bureaucratic practices, it was only at the beginning of 1891 that the hospital was publicly opened. In February 15, 1891, the first children were transported from the ward of Santa Maria Nuova where until then they had been hospitalized. In particular, the first child admitted was called Bettino Ferrini, who remained hospitalized there for three years. At the same time of the donation of miss Rachele Basevi Sforni and with a direct contribution of Santa Maria Nuova and of the professor Giuseppe Mya  [ it ], first chief of the pediatric clinic of the University, it was possible to erect the current rooms of the clinic where the external sick children are visited and where a pediatric clinic for infants is held. The creation of the two new isolation pavilions soon proved insufficient and in 1915 the need was felt again to erect a third pavilion, next to the previous two, this time with two floors and with a capacity of about 50 beds, at the creation of which the donation of Mrs. Zaira Fiori contributed in memory of her son second lieutenant Alberto, who died during the First World War. In 1927, to meet the needs of the surgical department by creating equipment suitable for the number of patients and the operations performed, a small operating room was built with an attached sterilized system. In 1929 it was needful to expand the analysis laboratories, which found a more suitable arrangement above the already existing classroom for students. A further vast modernization and expansion of the two pavilions that were part of the initial nucleus of the building, was carried out in 1930 on the occasion of the wedding of the Prince of Savoy with the princess Maria José of Belgium. Few years later, there were a lot of changes, indeed it was built a house for doctors and a new kitchen department more suitable. The 1934 is a significant year which was characterized by the creation of the boarding school for nurses and in 1957 was established a center for neurological diseases. ^[3]

Structure: from past to present

The original structure faces onto Via Luca Giordano and it has subsequently been enlarged to house the numerous additional services which have opened over the years. At the beginning, the hospital was composed only by two single-store pavilions placed to a central core, formed by a two-story building. The two side pavilions consisted of two rooms, one large and one small for a total of 48 beds plus two other small isolation rooms. In the central building, there were also various rooms, including an operating room, the management one, one for the doctors and one more intended for isolating the patients infected with diphtheria. In particular, one pavilion was aimed to accommodate males and the other for females, as the health management had established that children of the two sexes had to be separated. Just a few years after its foundation, the Florentines learned to love their hospital, and sick children from the city of Florence were joined by those from the whole province and eventually from every part of Tuscany and the neighboring regions.

At one point, the affluence of the sick in the hospital was so great that it was necessary to resort to an expansion of the premises after a few years and it was again the Commendator Meyer, Marquis of Montigliari, who in 1897 gave a new donation for this purpose. The hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, together with the Municipality and the Institute of Higher Studies, participated financially in the creation of the new pavilions, especially since the problem of moving the pediatric clinic of the university, which was placed in some rooms of the old maternity hospice, judged insufficient and hygienically inadequate, to the new children's hospital, was arosing. Together with the pediatric clinic, the Pediatric Surgery Department that the university had previously established along with its program of teaching, and which was located in the maternity premises, was transferred to the Meyer hospital. In 1901, the hospital acquired a large appreciation of land around the previous building and two new isolation pavilions capable of holding up to 24 beds each were erected. Nowadays, the building is located at the foot of the hills of the city of Florence and is 32,671 square meters large, with 5,000 square meters of garden space on terraces and on its roof. Moreover, there is a huge park of 72,000 square meters which surrounds it.

Theoretically conceived as a piece of "land-art," the new architecture, observed from high above shows an innovative topological approach that harmonize the building morphology with the contour lines of the hill, making it appear as a natural element of the land. Despite the imposing volume of 76,598 cubic meters, the new pediatric hub blends in with the lush hillside thanks to a strong environmental strategy: to this end, the three floors are tapered and staggered in such a way as to create overhangs with large, landscaped terraces that are "crowned" by a green roof that acts as a healing garden, offering spectacular views of Florence. ^[4] In 1995, the Meyer Hospital with the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Florence became an independent health institute of the National Health System, due to recognition of its role as a highly specialized pediatric institution. ^[5] This honor has been conferred to very few pediatric hospitals in Italy. Many of the hospital's services have been identified as specialized referral units for the region of Tuscany. In 2007 the historic seat of Via Luca Giordano has been dismissed and the actual seat is in a new structure near Florence central hospital, Careggi.

Curiosity

It is interesting to underline the fact that this important hospital is also characterized by some main features: the address is Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 24 and it is not so far from the central part of Florence. In 2016 the so-called “Piazza Careggi” has been changed in “Piazza Giovanni Meyer” in order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its foundation by Giovanni Meyer, the pioneer of this project. In 2019 a 13 years old patient from Tuscany, suffering from microtia, a rare congenital malformation (affects 5 children out of 10,000 births) in his bilateral case, which leads to an absence of development of the external ear. The plastic surgeon from Meyer who operated him, was able to reconstruct the ear staring from a small portion of rib cartilage taken from the child, giving their ear shape thanks to 3D printed models. This is the first intervention in Italy that makes use of this new medical technique. Most recently, in 2020 Coronavirus positive one and a half year old girl underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to treat a very high-risk form of myeloid leukemia. Nobody can solve the tough challenges posed by pediatric care by themselves. Building long-term relationships and partnerships is fundamental and the only way to make new discoveries that, in turn, can lead to improvements in the care of young patients. This is the reason why Meyer is dedicated to promoting international partnerships that result in innovation and ensure that our vision to create a healthier future for our children becomes a reality.Thanks serious commitment to scientific research and clinical activity, Meyer is part of the international Children’s Hospital Association. The hospital also has strong ties with two of the best children’s treatment centers in the world, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Boston Children’s Hospital. In conclusion, it is possible to elate Giuseppe Indolfi, Valentina Cetica and Davide Mei: these are the three under 40 talents who won the "Anna Meyer" prize for young researchers, announced by the Fondazione dell'Ospedale Pediatrico Meyer ONLUS and delivered during the even with the emblematic title. The context Anna Meyer Prize is positioned precisely with the aim of highlighting the excellent scientific work carried out by young talents. The call provides for the award of three prizes to as many researchers under 40 on the basis of the best publications, as first author, of the current year. The first prize went to pediatrician Giuseppe Indolfi, hospital medical director who carries out clinical activities at the Operating Unit of Medical Pediatrics and Pediatric Hepatology of the DAI Pediatrics Internistics. He engages in research activities in the field of pediatric Hepatology and in particular of infectious hepatitis. His work published in the international journal “Nature Reviews Immunology” has brought him to the top podium with this CSI motivation: "He is the first author of a series of important studies that have illustrated the biological mechanism responsible for the maternal-fetal transmission of HCV ( main responsible for hepatitis C).

References

1. "Bridging the gap between hospital and school: an initiative of Meyer Children's Hospital". www.euro.who.int. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
2. "Santa Maria Nuova". The Florentine. 2017-07-06.
3. Caldirola, P. (April 1960). "L'OSPEDALE MEYER - Cenni storici e recenti sviluppi Vallecchi Editore Officine Grafiche - Firenze (1960)". Il Nuovo Cimento. 16 (S1): 50–60. doi:10.1007/bf02724728. ISSN   0029-6341. S2CID   122171001.
4. "The Meyer Children's Hospital in Florence" . Archello. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
5. "Meyer Children's Hospital". MetabERN.

External links

• Meyer Pediatric Hospital website (in Italian)
• https://www.esmo.org/for-patients/esmo-designated-centres-of-integrated-oncology-palliative-care/esmo-accredited-designated-centres/anna-meyer-children-s-university-hospital-department-of-hematology-and-oncology

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ospedale pediatrico Meyer .