Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a non-profit 514-bed

academic medical center The Academic Medical Center (Dutch: ''Academisch Medisch Centrum''), or AMC, was the university hospital affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. After merging with the VU University Medical Center, it now operates as the Amsterdam Universi ...

and safety-net hospital in the South End neighborhood of

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. As part of the Boston Medical Center Health System, the hospital provides primary and specialty care to residents of the

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...

area. It is also the principal

teaching hospital A teaching hospital or university hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities a ...

of Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and home to 66

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

and

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

training programs.

History

Boston City Hospital The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and ...

was the first municipal hospital in the United States, opening in 1864. In 1960 Boston University's Medical School founded the Boston University Medical Center in the South End neighborhood to provide residency programs and research opportunities for students and faculty. Two years later Massachusetts Memorial Hospitals president Jerome Preston and Boston University president Harold C. Case announced a merger of Boston University Medical Center and the creation of a new board of trustees to oversee the institution with the stated purpose "to provide and maintain better health in contemporary society." This agreement replaced an earlier 1959 compact of association. The following year Massachusetts Memorial Hospital as a constituent of the Boston University Medical Center Hospital would announce their first year without a deficit. In 1994 Boston University Medical Center and the East Boston Community Medical Center created an equal joint partnership to purchase the Winthrop Hospital. By 1996 Boston City Hospital had an expected budgetary loss of $150 Million dollars over the next five years. Due in large part to these issues Boston Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...

was a major proponent of a merger setting a July 1 deadline for such a deal. He stated the merger is "the most important thing I will do as mayor." Boston City Council voted 9-4 on June 29 of 1996 in favor of a merging Boston City Hospital and the Boston University Medical Center to create the new Boston Medical Center. The new combined hospital had over 3,800 employees and more emergency room visits than any other hospital in New England. From 2015 through 2018, BMC undertook a campus redesign project to update clinical spaces, improve efficiencies, and better serve

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...

s. This project included the closure of the Newton Pavilion and the relocation of the services previously in the building to other parts of the hospital campus. In August 2024, amid the bankruptcy proceedings of

Steward Health Care Steward Health Care was a large private for-profit hospital, for-profit health system headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It utilizes an integrated care model to deliver healthcare across its hospitals and primary care locations, as well as through ...

, the Massachusetts governor's office announced that BMC would acquire two of Steward's hospitals. BMC on October 1, 2024 finalized its purchase of Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in the

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

neighborhood of Boston, later renaming them Boston Medical Center – South and Boston Medical Center – Brighton, respectively. The Commonwealth seized the property of the latter through

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

to facilitate its transfer to BMC.

Patient care and programs

BMC offers care in four

primary care Primary care is a model of health care that supports first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated person-focused care. It aims to optimise population health and reduce disparities across the groups by ensuring equitable ...

practices (Adult Primary Care,

Family Medicine Family medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is ...

Pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

, and

Geriatrics Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros'' mean ...

) and more than 70 specialties and subspecialties, including seven areas that have been named US News high performers. As a

Level I Trauma Center A trauma center, or trauma centre, is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major trauma, major traumatic injuries such as Falling (accident), falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. The term "tra ...

, the hospital is the busiest center for

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Psychological trauma, in psychology and psychiatric medicine, refers to severe mental and emotional injury caused by distressing events *Traumatic injury, sudden physical injury caused by an external force, which doe ...

and emergency services in New England, and the 11th busiest

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...

in the U.S. Boston University Medical Center

Rooftop farm

Boston Medical Center has a

rooftop farm A roof garden is a garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational oppo ...

, which grows produce for its patients and their

food pantry A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...

program. In 2022, the farm was recognized by the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. The farm yields some 5,600 pounds of produce each year. According to ''Greenroofs'', "the rooftop farm has 2,658 square feet of growing space and harvests about 25 different crops".

References

External links

Boston Medical Center Documentary
By Rachel Gotbaum. WBUR. 2006 audio documentary on the 10th anniversary of the merger, describing history and innovative programs of BMC. (RealAudio) {{authority control Hospitals in Boston Boston University Medical Campus Teaching hospitals in Massachusetts Hospitals established in 1996 Non-profit organizations based in Boston South End, Boston Trauma centers