http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinics-150-medical-contributions-spans-150-years

Newswise — ROCHESTER, Minn. –– To honor a century and a half of serving humanity, Mayo Clinic has compiled a list of 150 medical contributions.

The list includes innovations such as developing the concept of an integrated, multispecialty, not-for-profit group practice of medicine, establishing the first hospital-based blood bank in the United States, developing the ketogenic diet to help control epilepsy, and performing the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved hip replacement in the United States.

“The accomplishments on this list reflect the collective knowledge of colleagues throughout Mayo Clinic,” says Kerry Olsen, M.D., chair of the Mayo Clinic Sesquicentennial Committee. “Millions of people have received care as patients of Mayo Clinic, and millions of others have benefited from Mayo’s discoveries, advancing the standard of care throughout the United States and around the world.” To create the list, a committee of Mayo Clinic’s senior leaders in clinical care, research and education called upon their colleagues to submit important discoveries from their respective specialty fields. Once all the submissions had been received, the committee was faced with the challenging task of processing and narrowing down hundreds of entries to a list of 150.

“This list is not meant to be the ‘most’ important, nor are the accomplishments presented in any chronological order or priority,” says Dr. Olsen. “Rather, they were selected for their impact and enduring significance. Looking ahead, we anticipate many more advances to join the list.”

References from the project are preserved in the Mayo Clinic Historical Unit and Archive. “We hope this documentation will serve as inspiration for further investigation and research,” says Matt Dacy, director of Mayo Clinic’s Heritage Hall and member of the Mayo Clinic Sesquicentennial Committee.

###About Mayo Clinic Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org, www.mayoclinic.org and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.

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