The first athletes were treated in 1946 / Main focus on specialization
A lot has changed in the healthcare sector in 75 years. This also applies to the Sportklinik Hellersen. The orthopedic specialty clinic is celebrating its anniversary this year. Many medical innovations have emerged over the years at the clinic in Lüdenscheid, setting milestones in orthopedics as well as in the treatment of athletes and non-athletes at the same time. "Then as now, we live specialization wholeheartedly and I can proudly say that we are still one of the leading orthopedic clinics," says clinic CEO Dirk Burghaus on the occasion of the 75th anniversary.
The history began in 1946 with a small department in building 4 of the former district hospital. The idea behind it: to dedicate itself to the treatment of injured athletes, since sports injuries were not yet insured at that time. This was unique in West Germany after the end of the war. The first two athletes were treated on October 16, 1946. This was the beginning of a success story.
20 beds were available to Sporthilfe NRW, the clinic's sponsor, which was being founded at the time. Space was limited. There was no outpatient clinic of its own, and the nurses and other medical staff were provided by the district hospital. Only the administration was employed directly by the sports clinic. Over time, the workload became so great that the rooms became too small and a small provisional facility was to be turned into a clinic of its own. The board of Sporthilfe therefore decided to build its own hospital on March 5, 1960.
The foundation stone was laid six years later, in 1966, and another four years went by for the construction period. Thus the Sportklinik Hellersen, as it has been called since 2007, was officially opened on May 29, 1970, under the name "Krankenhaus für Sportverletzte Hellersen".Europe's most modern and largest hospital for sports injured patients with 229 beds had been created.The reopening was the event. Numerous prominent guests, from athletes to politicians, came to see the new hospital. The facility was considered unique with its numerous technical innovations.
But the newly built hospital also quickly reached the limits of its capacity - such was the demand for expertise from Lüdenscheid. At 96.1 percent of capacity, the new hospital was constantly occupied. An expansion of capacity was inevitable. So an extension building, today's House 2, with 100 additional beds was put into operation on October 14, 1977.
The steady progress of that time is still noticeable today. Over the years, specialization has been further developed and the specialist areas expanded accordingly, as well as the orientation concretized. Thus, today there is a separate specialist area for almost every orthopedic injury or illness. The range of services has been expanded to include endoprosthetics, plastic and aesthetic surgery, special pain medicine and sports medicine. "For hospitals of the future, this in-depth specialization is vital for survival. We see ourselves well positioned in this regard. We have succeeded in attracting top specialists to our hospital, so that today we can offer top-level medicine for all medical issues relating to the musculoskeletal system, for all pain symptoms, and in the field of plastic and aesthetic surgery," says Dirk Burghaus.
This top level should also be reflected in communication. "We are taking our anniversary as an opportunity to establish a new image and position ourselves in a more target group-oriented way in order to make our high degree of specialization more clearly visible. Our goal is to position ourselves for the next 75 years in a future-proof way," says Sarah Pawlik, Head of Marketing and Communications at the Sportklinik Hellersen."We have worked out a strategic realignment of our brand and corporate communications. The result will be visible with the new homepage, which is scheduled to go live at the end of the year. With it, we want to offer patients the best possible service even before they come to us - namely, when they find out about us," Sarah Pawlik continues.
Unfortunately, the clinic will have to do without an anniversary celebration this year. The omnipresent planning uncertainty has unfortunately not allowed the early organization of a celebration worthy of the occasion. Therefore, the clinic has thought of something else. Many small actions are to fill the anniversary year from October to October. The first of these will be the publication of a clinic magazine called "Hellersen Inside" and the new homepage. Anniversary celebrations appropriate to the occasion for employees and the public are to be held as soon as the pandemic situation permits again without restrictions.
Press contact
Sarah Burghaus
Head of Marketing, Corporate Communication & PR, Press Spokesperson
sarah.burghaus@hellersen.de
Marie Schulz
Public Relations
marie.schulz@hellersen.de
