The Metropolitan Hospital Center (MHC, also referred to as Metropolitan Hospital) is a hospital in the

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It has been affiliated with

New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a Private university, private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the ...

since it was founded in 1875, representing the oldest partnership between a hospital and a private medical school in the United States. MHC is part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal hospital and healthcare system in the country.

Location

Metropolitan is located near the border of

with

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

and Yorkville. The physical plant extends from First to Second Avenue between East 97th and 99th Streets. The hospital caters to a wide spectrum of patient population and disease pathology.

Transportation

The 96th Street station of the

Second Avenue Subway The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue o ...

, one block from the hospital's entrance, is served by the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

's . In addition, the of

New York City Bus MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service ( bus rapid transit) services across the city ...

and the 96th Street of the subway's serve the nearby neighborhood.

History

Metropolitan Hospital Center was founded in September 1875 as the Homeopathic Hospital. It was established by the New York City Department of Public Charities and Correction on

Wards Island Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City.

. The island already had other hospitals dating to at least 1847. The new hospital was soon known as the Ward's Island Homeopathic Hospital. In 1894, the hospital moved to Blackwell's Island (now

Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...

). It occupied the former New York City Asylum for the Insane and was renamed Metropolitan Hospital. The hospital moved into two newly constructed buildings at its present location in East Harlem in 1955. In 1966, the hospital added its Mental Health Building, an adjoining 14-story pavilion housing the hospital's psychiatric services. In 1969,

Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is primarily about exploring American institutions. In 2017, ''The New York Times'' called him "one of the most important and origina ...

filmed a documentary film, titled ''

Hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

'', using the hospital's emergency room. The film won two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s – Outstanding Achievement in News Documentary Programming - Individuals; and Outstanding Achievement in News Documentary Programming. In 1994, the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

selected the film for preservation. In 1971, the absurdist

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

film ''

The Hospital ''The Hospital'' is a 1971 American absurdist satirical black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring George C. Scott as Dr. Herbert Bock. It was written by Paddy Chayefsky, who was awarded the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original ...

'', starring George C. Scott, was filmed in a psychiatric wing which was nearing completion. In the 1980s, the hospital was threatened with closure due to funding cuts.

New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...

reached a $45 million, three-year agreement with the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

to develop a new project to demonstrate innovative ways of delivering health care to East Harlem's poor. In 1995, the hospital was listed as having 607 beds.

Designations

Metropolitan Hospital Center is the first hospital in East Harlem designated as a stroke center by the

New York State Department of Health The New York State Department of Health is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for public health. Its regulations are compiled in title 10 of the ''New York Codes, Rules and Regulations''. ...

. The hospital has been designated as a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) Center of Excellence by the New York State Department of Health. A Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is also on location, composed of specially trained Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners, medical personnel, patient advocates, social workers, law enforcement officers ( Special Victims Unit) and representatives of the

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal l ...

's Office Sex Crimes Unit."Emergency Care"
Metropolitan Hospital Center website

References

External links

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{{authority control 1875 establishments in New York (state) East Harlem First Avenue (Manhattan) Hospital buildings completed in 1955 Hospital buildings completed in 1966 Hospitals established in 1875 Hospitals in Manhattan NYC Health + Hospitals Second Avenue (Manhattan)