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Tufts Medical Center (until 2008 Tufts-New England Medical Center) in Boston, Massachusetts is a downtown Boston hospital midway between Chinatown and the Boston Theater District.

The hospital is a community based medical center for biomedical research and is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine where all full-time Tufts physicians hold faculty appointments; the center is connected to Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Tufts Medical Center is subdivided into a full-service adult hospital and the Tufts Children's Hospital (originally a floating ship but presently on shore). Tufts Medical Center's CEO is Michael Tarnoff, MD. Tufts Medical Center is located within Boston, but also has satellite locations in the suburbs of Quincy, Chelmsford, Framingham, among others. The hospital also has partnerships with Lawrence General Hospital and Lowell General Hospital and MelroseWakefield Hospital through Tufts Medicine, an integrated system of hospitals, home health services and physician networks dedicated to reimagining healthcare.

History

Tufts Medical Center's origins date back to 1796 when the Boston Dispensary was established as the first permanent medical facility in New England and one of the first in the United States. Modeled after a similar dispensary in London, the Boston Dispensary's mission was to provide home based medical care to the city's "worthy poor." Early donors included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.Revolutionary Care Then and Now: A History of Tufts-New England Medical Center Founded in 1796

In 1894, the Boston Floating Hospital was established by Rev. Rufus Tobey. At the time there was little medical help for the many, often fatal, childhood illness that befell infants and small children. Because many people believed in the cleansing and therapeutic qualities of sea air to improve health Tobey thought that sending the sick children out onto Boston Harbor on a boat and having them be seen by a doctor would be very beneficial. The enterprise was successful from the start and for the next 33 years, two successive ships were home to the hospital for children in Boston Harbor. In 1931, after the second Floating Hospital for Children ship was destroyed in a fire, the hospital was relocated to two successive buildings onshore.

The hospital's name of New England Medical Center was established in 1930 as a result of a union of the Boston Dispensary, the Boston Floating Hospital for Children and the Pratt Diagnostic Clinic. Tufts University School of Medicine joined as an affiliate. In 1968 it was renamed Tufts-New England Medical Center (Tufts-NEMC) to reflect the growing relationship between the hospital and the medical school. The affiliation agreement they adopted still stands. Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History. Ed. Anne Sauer The name was shortened to Tufts Medical Center on March 4, 2008.

In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, the hospital had $974.5 million in revenue, with an operating loss of $2.6 million. As of 2022, the hospital had a total of 415 licensed beds: 206 medical/surgical beds, 48 adult intensive care beds, 57 pediatric beds, 50 pediatric and neonatal intensive care beds, 34 post-partum beds, 20 adult psychiatric beds, and 24 infant bassinets.

Research and innovation

Tufts MC has a history of achievement in scientific research and clinical advances. Tufts research led to the discovery of drugs that prevent the body's rejection of transplanted organs, coining the term " immunosuppression," and also brought to light the link between obesity and heart disease. Tufts ranks among the top 5 percent of the nation's institutions that receive federal research funds.

Innovations

Tufts Medical Center and its predecessor institutions are responsible for numerous medical innovations, including:
* In 1899, the Boston Dispensary established the first U.S. lung clinic.
* In 1918, the Boston Dispensary established a food clinic which was the first of its kind; it is now the Frances Stern Nutrition Center.
* Around 1919, Dr. Alfred Bosworth invented a synthetic milk product for infants, known and sold today as Similac brand of infant formula.
* In 1927, Dr. William Hinton perfected the diagnostic test for syphilis, which is still used today.
* In 1952, the first preparation of human growth hormone was developed.
* In 1958, the suppression of the body's immune system to avoid the rejection of transplanted tissue was demonstrated and the term "Immunosuppression" was coined.
* In 1963, the Family Participation Unit was established, allowing parents to stay in the hospital overnight with their children.
* In 1981, the world's first pediatric trauma center was established.
* In 1997, the Neely House was established as a first-of-its-kind bed and breakfast-style home within the walls of the hospital. The facility hosts the families of adult and pediatric cancer patients.
* In 2001, the first-in-the-nation transplant exchange program, "Hope Through Sharing" was established.

Emergency medicine

The Emergency Department (ED) is equipped for the evaluation, resuscitation and stabilization of patients of all ages who present with acute illness or injury. The Tufts Children's Hospital is the home of the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute and is a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center (the oldest pediatric trauma center in the country).American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma
/ref> The hospital has been verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level I trauma center since 2012, one of 5 Boston adult trauma centers. Tufts Medical Center is part of the consortium of hospitals which operates Boston MedFlight, and is equipped with a rooftop helipad.

Transportation

Tufts Medical Center is located in Boston's Chinatown, near many highways including Interstates 90 and 93. The Tufts Medical Center MBTA Station is on the MBTA Orange Line and there is a connecting Silver Line stop beneath the overpass connecting the main atrium with Floating Hospital for Children. Also within a short walking distance is Boylston station on the Green Line and South Station, a major transportation hub serving the MBTA Commuter Rail, MBTA Red Line, Greyhound Lines, Amtrak, and several Chinatown buses with links to New York City.

References

External links

Tufts Medical Center

Floating Hospital for Children

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Chinatown, Boston
Hospitals in Boston
Hospital buildings completed in 1931
Tufts University
Academic health science centres
Teaching hospitals in Massachusetts
Hospitals established in 1796
Trauma centers