Jimma university specialized hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in Ethiopia. it was established in 1930 by the Italian invaders. specialized teaching
Jimma University teaching Hospital (JUTH) is one of the oldest public hospitals in the country. It was established in 1930 E.C by Italian invaders for the service of their soldiers. Geographically, it is located in Jimma city 352 km southwest of Addis Ababa. After the withdrawal of the colonial occupants, it has been governed under the Ethiopian government by the name of “Ras Desta Damtew Hospital
” and later “Jimma Hospital "during Dergue regime and currently Jimma University Teaching Hospital. Though old for its age, it had not made remarkable physical facility improvement for years. However in the later times it became evident that some side-wing buildings were constructed by different stakeholders at different times to respond to the ever-growing pressure of service demand and clinical teaching need derived from the public and Jimma University respectively. Especially, after transfer of its ownership to Jimma University, the university has made relentless efforts in extensive renovation and expansion work to make the hospital conducive for service, teaching and research. Currently it is the only teaching and referral hospital in the southwestern part of the country, providing services for approximately 15,000 inpatient, 160,000 outpatient attendants, 11,000 emergency cases and 4500 deliveries in a year coming to the hospital from the catchment population of about 15 million people. Cognizant of the fast growing service and teaching role of the hospital, the federal government considered construction of a new and level- best 600 bedded hospital which’ will be functional as of September 2015.
