Joubilee of Establishing the Health Care Institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Vaqf's Hospital in Tuzla (1874), the Regional Hospital in Sarajevo (1894), and the First Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo (1944)

Background: In the year 2024 Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates anniversaty of three important healthcare institutions: the Vaqf's hospital in Tuzla established in 1874, Regional hospital in Sarajevo (Landesspital) established in 1894 and the first Faculty of Medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina established in Sarajevo in 1944. Objective: The aim of this article was to describe historical facts how mentioned institutions were founded and what was importance of functioning all of them during history of health care education and healthcarte protection. Methods: The author searched important historical facts about establishing and works Hastahana in Tuzla, Landesspital in Sarajevo and Medical faculty in Sarajevo, writen in the books and articles deposited in indexed databases PubMed Central, Scopus, Hinari, Embase, etc. Results and Discussion: The first hospital (hastahanas, named as Waqf's hospitals, besides other 4 - established in Tuzla, Mostar, Travnik and Banja Luka) has been founded in Sarajevo in 1866, which was founded by Governor Serif Osman Topal Pasha and doctor Jozef Kecet. These hastahanas were definitely the embryo of an organized health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have had enormous hystorical significance. Vakuf's hospital in Tuzla (Hastahana) founded by doctor Mehmed Serbic Sami, the first Muslim physician, graduated in Instanbul, Turkey at Lecole de Medicine in 1873. The first official hospital established during Austrian-Hungarian period was Regional (Landesspital) hospital opened in the July 1st 1894 and had 303 hospital beds in 4 departments: the first Internal department with diseases of the throat and nose (not the ear) with 45-50 beds, the Second - Surgical Department with ophtalmology (for ear surgery) with 45-50 beds, the Third - Dermatology and Venerology ward with 70-80 beds and the fourth - Gynaecology-obstetrics department with 70-80 beds. It will be a good basis for training future teachers pioneers of medicine, which will be opened in Sarajevo in November 22nd 1944 as a part of Medical Faculty in Zagreb. An generation of medical students attend the first year of study in Sarajevo. True, most students of this generation will be mobilized during the war, some will move on to medical faculties in other cities, and some other faculties in Sarajevo. The first Faculty of Medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina officialy established in November 16th 1946. Conclusion: All institutions described in this article played important role in the history of healthcare education and healthcare protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina.