History
☰
A trip down memory lane
At the end of the 19th century, Protestants in general were hardly prevented from practicing their faith publicly in Vienna. However, unlike the Catholics, they had no hospital of their own that could take care of the spiritual and pastoral needs of Protestant patients. The Reverend Paul von Zimmermann was then the initiator of the establishment of the “Association for the Protestant Deaconess Cause in Vienna,” whose twelve members laid the spiritual foundation stone for the construction of the “Deaconess Hospital.”
In 1901, thanks to the generous support of sponsors, it was opened after two years of construction work. Initially, it was the deaconesses who were able to move from the former home care to a central nursing home so that they could now carry out nursing activities. The introduction of classical medicine came later, because at that time hospitals were primarily places for emotional care and pain relief.
The Deaconess Hospital in the 18th District was opened after just two years of construction, with the objective of providing optimal medical help, relief, and comfort to people in distressing situations. Nursing care was provided by deaconesses.
In 1903, the well-known visceral surgeon Dr. Josef Fabricius (on the left) took over as medical director.
1905: The deaconess hospital temporarily became a hospital for the wounded.
During the difficult years of the First and Second World Wars and during the hard interwar period, the loving commitment of the deaconesses helped countless people to overcome difficult, often seemingly hopeless situations.
1933: Dr. Max Köhler, a specialist in surgery, led the Deaconess Hospital as medical director until 1968.
The building was purchased and provisionally run as a hospice from 1930–1939. From 1939–1945 it served as a military hospital.
First provisional operation as a military hospital.
1947: Opening of Evangelisches Krankenhaus on Rossauer Lände as an internal specialist hospital under the medical director Dr. Arthur Hauer.
Gallneukirchen deaconesses handed over the management of the hospital to the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Association of Vienna.
1970: The last deaconess left Evangelisches Krankenhaus, which from this point on employed only non-religious nurses.
1987: Under Dr. Erich Sieber (General Secretary of the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Association), the Deaconess Hospital Vienna-Währing was demolished to allow for construction of a modern clinic. Prof. Dr. Gerald Pflüger became Medical Director, and Prim. Dr. Peter Weidinger became Medical Director at the Rossau site.
March 1991: After several years of major investments, the new Evangelisches Krankenhaus Vienna was opened as a modern, private but non-profit hospital with a total of 180 beds. Medical focus: Orthopedics, surgery, internal medicine, and neurology.
1994: Prim. Prof. Dr. Eva Maria Maida became head of the Department of Neurology.
1998: Prim. Dr. Günter Mostbeck became head of the Department of Internal Medicine II.
The extension with around 90 beds was opened and from then on housed the departments that had previously been based in Vienna Alsergrund. Subsequently, with 284 beds at the Hans-Sachs-Gasse 10–12 site, Evangelisches Krankenhaus was able to meet the constantly increasing demand better and faster. EKH Alsergrund was closed as a hospital and made available to Diakonie Austria.
2003
Prim. Prof. Dr. Gerald Pflüger developed a particularly tissue-sparing, minimally invasive approach for hip joint surgery.
Prim. Dr. Thomas Maca became head of the Department of Internal Medicine III.
2004
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Feil became the new head of the surgical departments. Under his leadership, EKH gained a reputation as a competence center for gentle surgical techniques.
Prim. Dr. Christian Emich became head of the Department of Internal Medicine IV.
2005
The Department of Nuclear Medicine was opened.
2006:
- Doz. Dr. Peter Peichl, a distinguished rheumatologist, osteologist, and specialist in autoimmune diseases, became head of the departments of internal medicine.
- Prim. Dr. Peter Jiru became head of the outpatient clinic.
2008:
- Prof. Dr. Sibylle Kozek-Langenecker took over as Head of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. EKH established itself as a center for painless gastroscopy and colonoscopy.
2009:
- Prim. Dr. Sascha Sajer became head of Physical Medicine.
- EKH was one of the first centers for innovative high-frequency therapy to relieve nerve pain.
2010:
- Emphasis on the pre-anesthesia outpatient department
2011:
- Opening of the special outpatient clinic for diabetes-related diseases; antibiotics officer was established
- Schwaighofer X-ray Institute became the Diagnostic Center Währing and has been available to patients with its fully digital X-ray machines ever since.
2013:
- The orthopedics department was reorganized, and two senior positions were filled by Prim. Dr. Sabine Junk-Jantsch and Univ.-Doz. Dr. Thomas Müllner.
- The Tumor Board was founded under the chairmanship of Prim. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Feil.
2014:
- The Institute for Head and Neck Diseases was founded.
- The medical training academy was established.
2015:
- X-ray institute under a new name: Diagnosehaus 18
2016:
- Prim. Univ.-Doz. Dr. Udo Zifko became the new head of the Department of Neurology.
2017:
- To mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, EKH hosted the “What I believe” exhibition. Artworks that reflect symbolic scenes from the testament, by the Viennese artist Kurt Kramer, who died in 2008, invited the viewer to quiet meditation and internalization.
- The Department of General and Vascular Surgery was established within the surgical department.
- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Feil, MAS, became Medical Director.
- Evangelisches Krankenhaus Vienna was one of the first private hospitals in Austria to be ISO-certified for important key areas.
2018:
- The long-standing Managing Director Peter Munk was succeeded by Mark Feder and Mag. (FH) Michael Entleitner, MBA.
- Prim. Priv. Doz. Dr. Peter Peichl, MSc became Medical Director.
- The Institute for Head and Neck Diseases was expanded by several internationally recognized experts. As a central point of contact, the range of treatments now includes head and neck surgery as well as oral and maxillofacial surgery in addition to the entire field of ear, nose and throat medicine. Thanks to interdisciplinary cooperation, the hospital is now well equipped to deal with challenging patient cases.
2019
- For the first time, sono-elastography offered our patients a quick, painless and safe way of finding out whether a thyroid nodule actually requires surgery.
- New appointment of Ms. Johanna Horn, MBA, as Director of Nursing
- The intermittent pneumatic compression technique (IPC) was used for the first time. This high-tech lymphatic drainage enables continuously good, uniform perfusion of the patient during surgical procedures on the upper body lasting more than three hours, which significantly reduces the risk of thrombosis.
2020:
- Evangelisches Krankenhaus presented its range of services at the KroneFIT health fair. Medicine is illustrated by walk-in organ models, medical lectures, direct medical advice from experts in neurology, vascular, gastric and intestinal diseases, orthopedics, ENT and eye diseases, and much more.
- Evangelisches Krankenhaus was the first clinic in Austria to use high-tech shoulder navigation technology. This computer-controlled implantation of artificial shoulder joints and 3D planning for the individually optimal type of artificial joint enables the implant to be positioned precisely.
- Prim. Dr. Johannes K. Stopfer became the new head of the interdisciplinary outpatient clinic.
2021:
- Diagnostic reliability thanks to the SynergyID system. This high-tech instrument projects the details of the surgical site precisely onto the screen. Treatment steps such as the placement of drill channels or anchoring can thus be carried out even more precisely, shortening procedures and anesthesia times and preventing complications. This technology also allows less fluid to seep into the neighboring tissue. Swelling and pain in the knee or shoulder are reduced.
- New special outpatient clinics: Outpatient clinic for breast diseases, outpatient clinic for plastic surgery, neuro-Covid outpatient clinic
- Mag. Michaela Klug, MSc became the new Director of Nursing.