Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) (formerly Vassar Brothers Hospital) is a 350-bed

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

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

overlooking the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

. It is part of the

Nuvance Health Nuvance Health is a not-for-profit health system with facilities spanning from New York State's Hudson Valley region to western Connecticut. Nuvance Health was formed in 2019 when Health Quest and Western Connecticut Health Network merged. It e ...

healthcare network and is the major medical center in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later orga ...

History

VBMC was incorporated in 1882 under the name Vassar Brothers Hospital, following contributions made by John Guy Vassar (nephew of

Matthew Vassar Matthew Vassar (April 29, 1792 – June 23, 1868) was an English-born American brewer, merchant and philanthropist. He founded Vassar College, a women’s college, in 1861. He was a cousin of John Ellison Vassar. The city of Vassar, Michigan, is ...

) following the death of his brother, Mathew Vassar, Jr. The hospital opened its doors in 1887, and initially had 40 beds divided up into four wards, each containing ten beds. At the time the hospital opened it also contained a labor and delivery ward, a children's ward, a nursery, three private rooms, and two isolation rooms. Major renovations have occurred throughout the years. Renovations in 1983, 1991, and 2001 added critical care areas, a new operating and delivery wing, and a cancer care center, respectively. Most recently, in 2021, a $550 million expansion was completed which doubled the number of available rooms. In 2002, Vassar Brothers Hospital officially became Vassar Brothers Medical Center. VBMC has been a part of the

system since its previous parent, Health Quest, merged with the

Western Connecticut Health Network Western Connecticut Health Network was a non-profit group of three Western Connecticut hospitals formed in 2010 by Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk Hospital. In 2019, WCHN merged with Health Quest, a chain of hospitals mostly in ...

in 2019.

Medical campuses

The Vassar Brothers Medical Center comprises several buildings on its central campus. The main structure, which is located adjacent to Route 9 on Reade Place, houses the main hospital, the emergency room, the

NICU 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 ...

, the maternity center, the gift shop, and the cafeteria, as well as the Dyson Center for Cancer Care. The Westage Medical Building, which houses The Heart Center, as well as the visitor

parking garage A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

, are located across the street. Another building containing The center for

Ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

Services, the VBMC Foundation and patient parking for the Vassar Ambulatory Surgery Center are located nearby on Lincoln Avenue. The second floor of the Vassar Ambulatory Surgery Center houses the Dyson Breast Center, a center for breast disease, breast health, and breast cancer that opened in August 2015. Employee parking is located adjacent to the Ambulatory Surgery Center on Livingston Avenue. VBMC also operates a satellite medical center called Vassar Brother Medical Mall in the nearby town of

Fishkill, New York Fishkill is a village within the town of Fishkill in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The village is in the eastern part of the town of Fishkill on U.S. Route 9. It is north of Interstate 84. NY 52 is the main street. It is part of the ...

. Located in the Westage Medical Mall, VBMC and their construction partner, Westage Companies, each own approximately half of the Medical Mall building. Services offered at the Mall include radiation

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

, same-day surgery, speech-language pathology, and women's imaging.

Dyson Center for Cancer Care

The Dyson Center for Cancer Care is a full-service cancer treatment and support center, the only of its kind in the Mid-Hudson Valley. The Dyson Center at VBMC is affiliated with the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project and conducts clinical research with assistance from the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

and the Community Clinical Oncology Program. The radiotherapy suite on-site offers three types of radiation therapy:

image-guided radiation therapy Image-guided radiation therapy is the process of frequent imaging, during a course of radiation treatment, used to direct the treatment, position the patient, and compare to the pre-therapy imaging from the treatment plan. Immediately prior to, o ...

, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

Dyson Breast Center

The Dyson Breast Center is a full service breast care center, first opened on August 3, 2015. The 11,746 square foot facility is housed on the second floor of the Vassar Ambulatory Surgery Center. The

Dyson Foundation Dyson may refer to: * Dyson (surname), people with the surname Dyson * Dyson (company), a Singaporean multinational home appliances company founded by James Dyson * Dyson (crater), a crater on the Moon * Dyson (operating system), a Unix general-pu ...

, the center's main benefactor, awarded $1 million for construction in 2014. Additional donations were made from the Friends of Vassar Brothers Medical Center. The total cost for the construction was $4.2 million. The Dyson Breast Center features two 3D

mammography Mammography (also called mastography) is the process of using low-energy X-rays (usually around 30 kVp) to examine the human breast for diagnosis and screening. The goal of mammography is the early detection of breast cancer, typically through d ...

units for use in the Breast Center, separate from the Center for Cancer Care. Dr. Angela Keleher, the director of the Dyson Breast Center, says the new 3D units " ecreasethe need for calling patients back in for additional screenings and ncreasethe cancer-detection rate." The project was designed to provide women with a single place for all breast care needs, and features exam rooms, procedure rooms, offices for the staff, and waiting areas.

Recognitions

Vassar Brothers Medical Center has received a number of awards over the years in several categories ranging from hospital/clinical quality, patient safety, women's health, and more. A list of awards and recognitions given to VBMC, organized by category, are listed below:

Cardiology/Pulmonary

* Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure Gold Quality Achievement Award in 2015 * America's 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award™ (2015, 2016, 2017)

Clinical Quality

* America's 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Care Award™ (2015, 2016, 2017) * Critical Care Excellence Award™ (2015, 2016) * General Surgery Excellence Award™ (2015) * 2013 IPRO Quality Award * 2008 American College of Surgeons Outstanding Achievement Award

Hospital Quality

* Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ (2015, 2016, 2017) * America's 100 Best Hospitals Award™ (2014, 2015, 2016)

Patient Safety

* 2016 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade "A" recipient

Stroke/Neurosciences

* 2015 Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award

Women's Health

* 2014 Women's Choice Award for America's Best Breast Centers

References

{{authority control Hospitals in New York (state) Trauma centers