Sunnaas Hospital is a hospital in Nesodden and a health trust under Helse Sør-Øst. Sunnaas is the country's largest specialised hospital in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Patient services cover a wide range of illnesses and options. Some of these include cancer services, brain injuries after accidents or disease, multiple injuries, burns, and nephrology. The rehabilitation programme covers primary rehabilitation, controlled return and specific patient programmes. The hospital has polyclinics in Oslo, Askim and on Nesodden and runs laboratory research on the hospital's behalf.
Research is a central part of the trust's work. The hospital has its own research department, and uses both medical students and its own health personnel. Sunnaas Hospital also has an international reptuation, and is heavily engaged in research with specialists from around the world.
In the last few years, Sunnaas Hospital has had a big influence in the rehabilitative field educationally, and structurally in the region. The hospital has a formal position as the training centre and major direction-setter in research in the field of rehabilitation.
The hospital lies in the idyllic setting of Nesodden.
Sunnaas was founded by Rolf (1916–1979) and Birgit Sunnaas (1915–1992) in 1954.[1] The couple founded an institution which could treat people until well after their time. Rolf Sunnaas put strong weight on the fact that patients should be able to choose their own treatment, and that the quality of hospital services should be of the highest class.
From the start, the hospital had a strong working relationship with Ullevål Hospital in Oslo and many patients from there. The first head was nephrologist Nils Sponheim. He decided the hospital should deal with medical rehabilitation, and over 20 years, made the hospital the country's foremost rehabilitation centre with a wide range of sicknesses treated.
The hospital continued to grow until 1975. At that point, it had 247 beds. Oslo municipality took over ownership as a gift from the Sunnaas couple in 1979, but wanted the state to take over their work. This included a commitment to deal with more complicated illnesses. In 1995 Sunnaas Hospital became a University hospital, and after the hospital reforms of 2002, it became its own health trust in Helse Øst. The administrative director is Einar Magnus Strand.
A more complete history of the hospital can be found in the book written for the hospital's 50th anniversary in 2004: Mitt Soria Moria Historien om Sunnaas sykehus by Egil Houg.
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