vcu medical center vcu medical center the vcu medical center is virginia commonwealth university's medical campus located in downtown richmond, virginia, in the court end neighborhood. vcu medical center used to be known as the medical college of virginia (mcv), which merged with the richmond professional institute in 1968 to create virginia commonwealth university. in the 1990s, the medical college of virginia hospitals authority was created to oversee mcv hospitals. in 2004, the name of this authority was changed to the vcu health system, and the mcv hospitals and surrounding campus were named the vcu medical center. the authority oversees the employees and real estate occupied by the five schools within the vcu medical center. it was at this time that the mcv campus moniker was created. vcu medical centervirginia commonwealth universitysanger hall, part of the vcu medical campusgeographylocationrichmond, virginia, u.s.coordinates37°32′25″n 77°25′48″whistoryconstruction started1838 (1838)linkswebsitewww.vcuhealth.orglistshospitals in u.s. west hospital houses various clinical, administrative, and support services of the hospitals of the vcu medical center; clinical, academic, and administrative units of the school of medicine; and academic and administrative units of the school of allied health professions. in addition to the adult hospital, children's hospital of richmond at vcu is located on the campus. today the vcu medical center is composed of the hospitals and five schools—college of health professions, school of dentistry, school of medicine, school of nursing, school of pharmacy—and is located on the mcv campus, adjacent to the virginia biotechnology research park. the vcu medical center vcu medical center has 865 licensed beds with a total of 85,700 emergency room visits in 2012. there were 558,385 outpatient clinic visits and a total of 20,506 surgeries. academic rankings school of allied health professions 1st – nurse anesthesia 3rd – health services administration 7th – rehabilitation counseling 15th – occupational therapy 19th – physical therapy school of nursing 36th – nursing school of medicine 72nd – research 49th – primary care school of pharmacy 21st – pharmacotherapy and outcomes science 17th – pharmacy hospital rankings 2nd – overall hospital ranking in the state of virginia 44th – cardiology 29th – pediatric urology (chor) 46th – urology 38th – cancer 41st – heart & heart surgery 20th – rehabilitation 36th – kidney disorders new construction new children's hospital – the wonder tower is slated to open in 2023. the new facility will house 72 private rooms; an emergency department; expanded child life services; family amenities; additional operating rooms and imaging capabilities. recently constructed massey cancer center – an 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m2), $41.8 million building, with 72 research labs and a two-level, 109-car parking lot critical care hospital – central virginia's only level-one trauma center, the 15-story critical care hospital specializes in intensive care medical sciences building ii – a 125,000 square feet (11,600 m2) research lab w. baxter perkinson jr building – school of dentistry. a 54,000 square feet (5,000 m2) addition to the school of dentistry on leigh street that houses research, clinic and teaching space new school of nursing – an additional 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) of research and training space for the vcu nursing program mcv campus recreation center – a 31,000 square feet (2,900 m2) addition to the recreation and aquatic center larrick student center – renovated mcv campus dining court history of the vcu medical center vcu created an online timeline, now at archive.org, that goes from 1838 to 2009. founding on december 1, 1837, the president and trustees of hampden–sydney college created a medical department to be located at richmond. founders of the college dr. richard lafon bohannan – professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children dr. lewis webb chamberlayne – professor of materia medica and therapeutics dr. john cullen – professor of theory and practice of medicine dr. augustus lockman warner – dean and professor of surgery and surgical anatomy dr. socrates maupin – professor of chemistry and pharmacy dr. thomas johnson – professor of anatomy and physiology first year finished in 1845, the first mcv building was built in the egyptian-revival style mcv opened on november 5, 1838, in the old union hotel located at the corner of nineteenth and main streets. the college began as the medical department of hampden-sydney college. there were forty-six students enrolled in the first class, which lasted from november 5, 1838 – april 4, 1839. students paid $20 to the professors for each of the six courses. 1850–1861 the medical department of hampden-sydney college received an independent charter from the general assembly in 1854, and became the medical college of virginia (mcv) shortly thereafter, in 1860, it transferred all its property to the commonwealth and became a state institution. there had not been a separate hospital where patients could be housed within the college buildings since the beginning. a new hospital, known as the college infirmary, was built at a cost of $22,336.57 and opened in april, 1861. civil war soon the civil war erupted, and the college found itself playing an important role in the education of confederate surgeons and in the hospital care of sick and wounded military personnel. during the war, the school remained open, and it graduated a class every year throughout the conflict. the mcv is the only southern medical school still in existence to have done so. 1866–1882 solomon marable's body was found packed into a barrel of salt for preservation in the dissection room. for several years after the civil war, the faculty included james brown mccaw, a member of a family long prominent in the medical field, who had commanded a confederate hospital. mccaw served as a professor, dean of the faculty, and president of the board of visitors. the youngest of mccaw's nine children, walter mccaw, was gifted academically and completed his medical degree at the virginia college of medicine in 1882, when he was only nineteen. in 1867, the college's first outpatient clinic was established, when the faculty agreed to cooperate with the freedmen's bureau and the city of richmond in the establishment of a "dispensary for the relief of the sick poor, both white and colored." in the late 1800s, african-american janitor chris baker became notorious for obtaining cadavers for dissection by students. one case in 1898 was subject to an exposé by richmond planet publisher john mitchell jr. and included grisly sketches of the proceedings. baker's success, however, led to one professor saying in 1898 that the school could be called "chris baker's college". the university college of medicine a second medical school, the "college of physicians and surgeons" (later the "university college of medicine"), was founded by dr. hunter mcguire in 1893, just two blocks from the egyptian building. the new college was composed of three schools: medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. the university college of medicine was destined to have a lifespan of only twenty years as an independent institution. the flexner report of 1909 suggested that the two schools would be better off merging, which they then did in 1913, retaining the medical college of virginia name. 1913 rankings with dr. christopher tompkins dean tompkins said in his retirement speech in 1913, "from a school whose matriculants numbered, as i can remember it, 22 during the session and whose standing amongst medical colleges in the country was so insignificant that it was not worth noticing, the matriculants have increased to—in one session—as many as 306. in a recent table compiled in december 1911, from the reports of the council on medical education of the american medical association, it was found that of all the medical colleges in the united states and taking them in the order in which their graduates passed the various medical examining boards, the medical college of virginia stood fourth; the order in which they came being, (1) rush, (2) johns hopkins, (3) cornell, (4) medical college of virginia, and about one hundred and forty behind them." aborted consolidation with the university of virginia in 1920, a discussion that had gone on for years without resolution of the issues involved was revived. repeatedly, the view had been expressed that the medical college of virginia and the university of virginia department of medicine might well be consolidated with benefit both to the schools and to the public. in 1867, 1905, and 1913, the question had been raised; and, finally, in 1920 a serious study was undertaken. in reviewing appropriations, governor westmoreland davis noted that virginia was supporting two medical schools, seemingly in competition, and surmised that this might well be uneconomic, particularly at a time when money was tight. acting on the governor's recommendation, the general assembly authorized a commission on medical education. the commission made a thorough study that recommended that virginia support only one medical school; that this school be in richmond; that it be the department of medicine of the university of virginia under the full and sole control of the rector and visitors of the university; and that the plan be effective upon the unconditional transfer of all medical college of virginia properties and assets to the rector and visitors of the university. the board of visitors of the medical college of virginia was in favor, and by resolution determined that the college would willingly embrace the plan should the commission's recommendations be accepted by the legislature. instead, the alumni of the university, under the leadership of the eminent dr. hugh h. young, of johns hopkins medical school, waged a campaign to preserve the medical school at charlottesville. the report was approved overwhelmingly in the house but died by a 24-16 tally in the senate. in view of the state's growth, the action of the senate was fortunate. had the report won approval, virginia would have found herself today facing the need to establish another medical school, with a minimum price tag of 30 million dollars. the issue of consolidation was to rise again, in 1947, but only briefly, as the handwriting on the wall was by that time quite clear. the great depression and expansion the west hospital in richmond, virginia, circa 1942 the great depression struck the college with perhaps more force than in the case of some other institutions. mcv was struggling to secure funds without which specialized structures and trained personnel, both expensive, could not be had. plans laid prior to 1930 with early fruition apparently possible had to be put aside, notably the projected laboratory and outpatient building. salaries, never high, had to be cut. however, by 1941 the modern 600-bed, 18-story mcv hospital was completed; the egyptian building had been completely reconstructed to provide up-to-date facilities for the departments of bacteriology and pathology and to create the 300-seat simon baruch auditorium, in the egyptian motif, named for dr. simon baruch, class of 1862, whose distinguished son, bernard m. baruch, helped make the restoration possible. also by 1941, new quarters were provided for the departments of physiology and pharmacology by adding a fourth story to mcguire hall. in the brief span of five years, a remarkable program of physical expansion had been completed. in 1945, a certificate in physical therapy program was created by frances a. hellebrandt: 18 1956–1963 the interest of individuals, organizations, and agencies, other than those of the commonwealth, may be gauged by their provision, since 1956, of gifts, grants, and contracts for teaching, research, and capital improvements totaling a little over $15 million. reflecting the stimulating influence of such support, the college is fully accredited, with university status, and alive with enthusiasm, as the faculty and staff go about their mission of providing for the education of some 1200 students enrolled in 10 schools—plus some 200 young physicians in residence for further training—of caring for the sick who occupy its 1308 beds, and, finally, of seeking new knowledge for their benefit. in 1962, the college absorbed the black students from the st. philip school of nursing during the implementation of integration. the $6.5 million medical education building was completed in the summer of 1963. it was the most important addition to the physical plant of the college since the completion of the medical college of virginia hospital in 1940. with the added facilities of this building, the school of medicine was able to increase enrolment from 84 to 128 students. becoming vcu in 1968, the state legislature merged the medical college of virginia with