Our History

More Than 100 Years of Service

For more than one hundred years, Highland Hospital, through four name changes and continuous expansion, has taken its place as one of the community's leading medical institutions. In ensuing years between 1889 and today, a staff of learned medical practitioners, dedicated personnel, and generous friends have brought Highland to its present standard of care.

Along the way, Highland Hospital has experienced the following milestones:

• First hospital in the U.S. to use insulin to treat diabetes. (Dr. John Williams, chief of medicine at Highland for 30 years, gave the first insulin injection to the son of the chief legal counsel at Kodak.)

• First hospital in the U.S. to use endocavitary radiation as an alternative to colostomy surgery.

• First hospital in the U.S. to establish a clinical chemical laboratory.

• First in New York and third in the U.S. to establish a Family Medicine training program.

• First hospital in Rochester to allow fathers to be present in the delivery room.

• First in Rochester to establish a health information center exclusively for women.

• First in Rochester to offer a computerized physician referral service.

• Today Highland is one of the busiest hospitals for births.