City: Tulsa, OK

Category: Health Care

Telephone: (918) 574-1000

Address: 1120 S. Utica Ave.

Description: Hillcrest Medical Center began as Morningside Hospital and School of Nursing—founded by nurse Dolly Brown McNulty in 1918. The nursing school, a three-year program, provided thousands of nurses in its 58-year career. Morningside was renamed Hillcrest in 1940.In its distinguished history, Hillcrest has created a long list of “firsts.” Among these accomplishments are Tulsa’s first heart surgery program, the city’s first family-centered childbirth program, Oklahoma’s first burn-treatment center, the state’s first hospital-sponsored helicopter ambulance, and Oklahoma’s first hospital-based rural outreach program with comprehensive specialty clinics in surrounding communities.The 691-bed hospital is one of Oklahoma’s most respected medical facilities. Some particular points of pride include the Peggy V. Helmerich Women’s Health Center, the Spine and Orthopedic Center, the Kaiser Rehabilitation Center, and the Hillcrest Center for Diabetes Management. The latest technology can be found in the Helmerich Cancer Center—the CyberKnife, a computer-controlled radiosurgery system that operates with sub-millimeter accuracy, is being successfully used to treat tumors that were formerly untreatable.In March 2009 the Oklahoma Heart Institute at Hillcrest opened—the state’s largest dedicated heart hospital for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease.The same year, Hillcrest was designated a “Value Based Care Center,” one of five regional centers and the only one in Oklahoma. This is a program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services designed to provide savings to the system through coordinated care. There are also monetary incentives to participating patients. The plan applies to cardiology care and orthopedic procedures.