Hospital history

The J. Dietl Specialist Hospital is situated in the very heart of Kraków, in an antique building on Skarbowa street. The building, designed by the distinguished architect professor Wacław Krzyżanowski and erected in the years 1921-1925, was expanded from the side of Dolnych Młynów street to serve as a hospital. This newer section of the building was the work of the Kraków Healthcare Services Design Bureau. The hospital was opened in the autumn of 1981 and given the name of Dr. Józef Dietl, an illustrious medicine practitioner, scholar, patriot, and independent Kraków’s first president. For its time, the institution was quite progressive. At first, it functioned within the structure of the Healthcare Group, and its directors were Dr. Andrzej Wiśniewski and Dr. Zofia Kulig, while Józef Kusionowicz, M.D. became its chief physician. In 1985, the post was taken over by Andrzej Kosiniak-Kamysz, M.D. The hospital was taken out of the Healthcare Group structure in June 1991.

                  The first elected director was A. Kosiniak-Kamysz, with Jadwiga Hospodarewska, MA as his deputy, replaced after six months by Elwira Jackowska, MA, and later Jolanta Stańczykiewicz, MA. Currently, Barbara Kamysz, MA is the hospital’s deputy director responsible for planning and marketing. Its co-creators were Janusz Maciejewicz, M.D.; Bogusław Pająk, M.D.; Dr. Wacław Adamczyk; Teresa Bigaj; and Barbara Kościńska, chief of the economy section. All of the institution’s employees, regardless of education and position, worked to realize their vision of a modern, progressive hospital, not only preparing the departments for future patients, but even arranging and tidying the building’s vicinity. Interiors were designed by the students of the Academy of Fine Arts. The first departments to be opened were the Departments of Cardiology and Neurology, Rehabilitation Section, and soon after – the 1st and 2nd Departments of Internal Medicine, and the Department of Rheumatology.

                  From the beginning, the head and organizer of the Department of Cardiology and Intensive Care was Janusz Maciejewicz, M.D. Bogusław Pająk, M.D. was head of the Department of Neurology, succeeded after his death by Jacek Huczyński, M.D. The 1st Department of Internal Medicine was transferred from the Goodfriars Hospital, with prof. Henryk Gaertner, PhD as its head. His deputy was Dr. Bogusław Mally, and later also Dr. Kosiniak-Kamysz.

                  In December 1983, the authorities of the Medical Academy, the City of Kraków, and the Ministry of Healthcare signed a contract for the establishment of the Chair and Clinic of Internal and Rural Medicine. Its head was Dr. Henryk Gaertner, who held the post until 1992. Since 1993, the head of the Clinic and the 1st Department of Internal Medicine was prof. Dr. Teresa Adamek-Guzik. The current head of the department is Tomasz Guzik, M.D. The head of the 2nd Department of Internal Medicine was Józef Kusionowicz, M.D., who at the same time was chief physician of the whole institution. Since 1989, the department has been managed by Anna Gudowska-Nitka, M.D.

                  The Department of Rheumatology, functional since 1968, was being transferred between the hospital in Witkowice and the G. Narutowicz Hospital in Kraków before it was eventually assigned to the J. Dietl Specialist Hospital. Until 1995, the head of the department was Dr. Alicja Barwik-Schramm. In the years 1996-2011, the head of the department was Dr. Antoni Skura. The current head of the department is Dr. Bogdan Batko. In 1992, the department was merged with the Provincial Rheumatology Clinic.

                  Establishment and management of the Central Diagnostics Laboratory was the work of its successive directors: Dr. Ludwika Gaertner; Janina Gorzkowska, MA; Halina Skołyszewska, MA; and currently Alicja Baran, MA. Together with the establishment of the Provincial Centre for Rheumatology, Immunology and Rehabilitation, the Immunology Lab was created and tasked with specialized rheumatology-specific immunological diagnostics research.

                  Magdalena Dąbrowska, M.D.; Elżbieta Szarpak-Sobańska, M.D.; and Jan Czyżowski, M.D. have been the successive managers of the Institute of Diagnostic Imaging.

                  The 3rd Department of Internal Medicine was created as a division of the 1st D Department of Internal Medicine in March 1987, and from its inception, its head was AnDr.zej Kosiniak-Kamysz, M.D., at the same time the director and chief physician of the hospital. One of its subsections is the Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, whose first manager was Dr. Kosiniak-Kamysz. Currently, the lab is managed by Janusz Komorowski, M.D. During the time of Dr. Kosiniak-Kamysz’s state office duties, the position of head of 3rd  Department of Internal Medicine, as well as chief physician, was held by Róża Karłowska, M.D., with Elżbieta Woźniak, M.D. as her deputy.

                  With the healthcare reform and the creation of Health Maintenance Organizations, the section’s structure underwent change, resulting in the establishment of a separate Hospital Clinic with specialist offices, together with the Planning, Economic Analysis and Marketing Section, which was managed first by Barbara Kamysz, MA and currently Anna Hajduk-Przepióra, MA.

                  In October 2005, by resolution of the provincial authorities, the Kraków Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital was incorporated into the structure of the J. Dietl Hospital. The joint cells formed the base of the Provincial Centre for Rheumatology, Immunology and Rehabilitation, with sections on Skarbowa St and Foch St.

                  In 2006, the Central Admission Hall was rebuilt and modernized, and the Institute of Diagnostic Imaging  underwent digitalization.

                  In 2007, the Brain Stroke Treatment Section was created within the Department of Neurology, and in December of said year, the General Cryotherapy Clinic was opened at the Rheumatology Centre, offering low temperature treatment utilizing a nitrogen-free cryotherapy chamber.

                  In 2008, the Departments of Internal Medicine underwent further specialization, and thus the 1st Department of IM took on allergology, the 2nd Department of IM focused on gastroenterology, and the 3rd Department of IM specialized in metabolic conditions and geriatrics.

                  In 2009, the Rheumatology Centre on 33 Focha St. underwent development and qualified for the ISO 9001-2008 certificate.

                  In 2010 began the construction of a new wing of the hospital at 33 Focha St., for the purposes of creating an Operation Block and the Department of Orthopedics, as well as new space for the Hospital Clinic.

                  In 2011, the Department of Rehabilitation gained a new Neurological Rehabilitation Section, equipped with a new X-ray CT.

                  In 2012, we celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the J. Dietl Specialist Hospital, as well as the expansion of the Rheumatology Centre.

                  In 2013, the ISO 9001-2008 certificate was extended for another three years, and a quality assurance system compatible with the certificate was introduced.

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