American Hospital

In 1923, when the building was deemed to have insufficient capacity for the hospital’s quickly growing staff and increasing scope of activities, the American Hospital moved into the former site of the German Hospital on Sıraselviler Caddesi in Taksim, once used by the British occupying forces. In 1927, the hospital’s advisory board became board of managers. In the first meeting of the board of directors, comprising 12 American members all domiciled in Istanbul, the decision was taken to create a board of trustees in New York in an effort to open an official agency in the USA and raise money for the hospital.
 
After Dr. Hoover returned to the USA for personal reasons, Dr. Wilfred M(cIlvaine) Post assumed the role of chief physician. Dr. Post returned to the USA in 1926 following the death of his wife and Dr. Lorrin Andrews Shepard took up the role. After the tenancy period at the German Hospital expired, the American Hospital moved into a four-story apartment block at 19 Silahhane (Teşvikiye) Caddesi on March 12, 1928. The new site of the nursing school was directly across the street at the Bedrettin Bey Apartments.
 
On June 17, 1931, the government agreed to recognize the American Hospital as an organization with land-ownership and construction rights. In New York, on October 30 of the same year, the American Hospital was formally registered as a non-profit organization under the name American Hospital of Istanbul, Inc. Resources secured by the US drive for donations played a big role in reducing the running deficits, particularly during the Great Depression in the early 1930s. In March 1938, construction was able to begin on a new hospital building in Nişantaşı thanks to funds secured in the same way. The new building was completed in less than two years and opened for business on November 14, 1939. In 1945, the names of the hospital and the school of nursing were changed respectively to the Admiral Bristol American Hospital and the Admiral Bristol Nursing School in memory of their founder. The Nursing School was built next to the hospital, opening in 1950. The American Hospital Philanthropic Association was founded in 1956.
 
Following the retirement of Dr. Shepard, who had been the chief physician since 1927, Dr. Wilson Swanker took up the post at the beginning of 1957. In 1962, Dr. Rolf Lium took up the post of chief physician. In July 1964, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided 250,000 dollars of aid to support works carried out to modernize and expand the hospital. In the same year, the government of the Turkish Republic approved plans to increase the hospital’s bed capacity to 250. In 1966, Vehbi Koç donated 70,000 dollars to set up a cancer (cobalt) pavilion within the hospital. Following Dr. Lium’s departure from his post due to personal and family reasons, Dr. Warren H. Winkler assumed part-time responsibility for the roles of chief physician and director in August 1967, switching to full-time the following year.
 
Lila Acheson Wallace, owner of Reader’s Digest, provided the American Hospital with a donation of 540,000 dollars to fund the construction of a six-story building; work began in July 1971 and the Barclay Acheson Building opened in late March 1973. The new foyer building, financed by USAID, opened in April 1983. At the end of January 1985, work began on a ten-story outpatient building, also funded by USAID. In May 1985, Eli Acıman was elected director of the board of managers, becoming the first Turkish citizen to hold the post. A collaborative practice agreement was signed with Houston Methodist Hospital in the US the same year.
 
The new outpatient building opened in July 1988. Following Eli Acıman’s departure from his post in 1989, Rahmi M. Koç was elected to the position. The American Hospital Foundation was founded in March of the same year. November saw the opening of Turkey’s first Preventative Healthcare Center.
 
In 1990, changes were made to the hospital’s governing structure and Dr. Winkler continued in his role as chief physician while George D. Rountree assumed the role of administrative director (in 1992 he became general director and CEO). The Vehbi Koç Cancer Center was opened in June of the following year. The Semahat Arsel Nursing Education and Research Center (see SANERC) was opened as part of the American Hospital in 1992. Following Dr. Winkler’s departure, Dr. Engin Bazmanoğlu assumed the vacant role of chief physician in 1995.
 
The VKV assumed ownership of the hospital in order to resolve its ever-growing financial problems. Administrative powers of American Hospital of Istanbul, Inc. were legally transferred to the VKV when the agreement was signed on June 20, 1994. The agreement included conditions stipulating, among other things, that the hospital property was not to be sold or transferred and that it would continue to be used as a hospital for years to come. Following sale and transfer, all legal rights and powers formerly belonging to the New York Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors in Istanbul were transferred to the VKV Board of Directors. The hospital and the Admiral Bristol Nursing School were formally transferred to the VKV on February 27, 1995. The name of the hospital was changed to the Vehbi Koç Foundation American Hospital.

The neighboring Güzelbahçe Hospital was purchased in November 1995 with the aim of securing sufficient space for an expansion of the American Hospital and School of Nursing. Güzelbahçe Hospital was renovated and connected to the main hospital building by a corridor before being re-opened as the Semahat Arsel and Dr. Nusret Arsel Building; several of the units in the American Hospital moved into this new building. The School of Nursing and SANERC were taken over by Koç University in 1999 and 2004 respectively.
 
In 1998, the American Hospital became a member of the American Hospitals Association. An agreement was signed that same year by the American Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital and the medical faculties of Cornell and Columbia universities, covering collaboration on topics such as medical training and patient care, as well as exchanges for doctors, directors, nurses and students.
 
The MedAmerican Outpatient Clinic (now MedAmerican Medical Center[*]) opened in Kadıköy in December 1997 with the aim of providing medical services on behalf of the American Hospital on Istanbul’s Asian side. Based in Tophane, the Italian Hospital was leased in March 1998 following an agreement between the Italian Consulate and the American Hospital and, following renovation work funded by contributions from the Agnelli Foundation, was reopened as the Giovanni Alberto Agnelli Building, a health center focusing primarily on providing cancer diagnosis and treatment. The hospital opened on November 18, 1999, however, it was closed again due to new legal barriers and did not reopen until July 2005. The Italian Hospital closed in August 2006 following financial troubles.
 
The American Hospital’s new wing, constructed on the former site of the School of Nursing, opened in October 1999. The Güzelbahçe Hospital building was demolished in 2000; work was completed on its replacement, the Semahat and Dr. Nusret Arsel School of Nursing building, in 2002.
 
In October 1999, George D. Rountree departed from his role as general director, continuing his work as business development advisor and director. Talât Pekelman assumed the role of director general. As the hospital’s financial problems worsened, changes were made to senior management and, in May 2001, Dr. Serdar Savaş was appointed acting general director. But in the face of growing financial problems, Dr. Savaş departed from his post in October of the same year and was replaced by George D. Rountree. Dr. Ömer Arıkan assumed the role of chief physician. The “culture of profitability” program, which was gaining legitimacy at the hospital, soon bore fruit, making important progress towards overcoming financial issues.
 
In 2002 and 2005, the hospital received accreditation papers documenting conformance to Joint Commission International (JCI) standards. (The JCI papers were renewed for the fifth time in 2015.) In March 2005, the American Hospital became the first private hospital to receive ISO 14001 accreditation, valid for three years. The ISO 9001 it had previously received was also renewed for a further three years.
 
Zekeriyaköy Family Medical Center opened in March 2003 with the aim of providing health services to people living in Zekeriyaköy, Kilyos, Maslak, Sarıyer and the surrounding districts and continued to run until 2014.
 
Following the departure of George D. Rountree from the role of general director in late 2006, Dr. Evren Keleş took his place. Dr. Keleş also took on the role of chief physician in 2008.
 
The American Marine Outpatient Clinic which was opened by the VKV in Göcek in conjunction with the American Hospital in August 2007—in cooperation with Göcek Municipality and the DenizTemiz Association/TURMEPA—ceased operations at the end of 2013. In July 2018, Bodrum American Hospital has opened.
 
Today (2018), the American Hospital is a full-fledged health organization providing health services to over 220,000 patients every year, presiding over a 60,500 square meter site, featuring 261 rooms, 41 of which are reserved for intensive care, as well as 31 observation beds and 12 operating rooms. Since 2014, Dr. Erhan Bulutcu has held the role of general director and İsmail Bozkurt the role of chief physician.