South Shore Hospital is a 396-bed hospital located in

Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer") , image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...

. It is the only community hospital within the state that operates a Level III

neonatal intensive care unit A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), also known as an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. Neonatal refers to the first 28 days of life. Neonatal care, as kn ...

. It is also one of three hospitals in Massachusetts with a Level II designation, and the only Level II trauma center that is located south of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

History

The hospital opened in 1922 and was originally named Weymouth Hospital. It was located in a pre-Civil War mansion, in what was once the home of H.B. Reed, a prominent shoe manufacturer. It contained 22 beds, a delivery room, a nursery, an operating room, and an x-ray machine. Within its first six months of operation, the hospital grew too large for the space that was provided by the mansion, and subsequently doubled in size. In 1967, the building was replaced entirely South Shore Hospital was the first private organization in the country that received funding from the Public Works Administration. It was also one of the first community hospitals that offered day surgery and twenty-four hour emergency room staffing. It was the first hospital in New England that integrated and group hospitalization and insurance.

Current Operations

The hospital employs 1,063 medical staff members. Its maternity center oversees the delivery of approximately 3,083 infants every year. The surgical team performs 20,020 surgeries per year. In 2018, the hospital reported a total of 29,659 patient discharges.

Awards and recognition

South Shore Hospital has received a federal safety rating of four out of five stars from the

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer M ...

. In 2018, its cardiac catheterization lab was awarded a gold star from the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

for adherence to strict performance standards and providing quality treatment to its patients.

The Leapfrog Group A Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is a group, institution, or association that improves medical care by reducing medical errors. Common functions of patient safety organizations are data collection and analysis, reporting, education, funding, ...

has recognized South Shore Hospital as a Top General Hospital. In 2019, the hospital was designated with an "A" safety grade.

References

{{authority control Hospitals in Massachusetts Weymouth, Massachusetts 1922 establishments in Massachusetts Trauma centers