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

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It has been affiliated with

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

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 borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the we ...

and Yorkville. The physical plant extends from First to Second avenues between East 97th and 99th streets. The hospital caters to a wide spectra 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 MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...

, 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 owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...

's . In addition, the of

New York City Bus MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...

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 Islands, in New York County, New York City,

. It was later known as the Ward's Island Hospital. In 1894, the hospital moved to Blackwell's Island (currently known as Roosevelt Island). 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 "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...

filmed a documentary using the hospital's emergency room titled

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 emergen ...

, which won two Emmys for Outstanding Achievement in News Documentary Programming - Individuals and Outstanding Achievement in News Documentary Programming, and 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, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

selected the film for preservation. In 1971 The Hospital 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. NYC Mayor

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...

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 U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans 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

designated as a stroke center by the

New York State Department of Health The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is the department of the New York state government responsible for public health. It is headed by Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett, who was appointed by Governor Hochul and confirmed by the S ...

. 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 A Special Victims Unit (SVU) is a specialized division within some police departments. The detectives in this division typically investigate crimes involving sexual assault or victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling such a ...

) and representatives of the New York County District Attorney's Office Sex Crimes Unit."Emergency Care"
Metropolitan Hospital Center website

References

External links

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{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1955 Hospital buildings completed in 1966 Hospitals in Manhattan Hospitals established in 1875 East Harlem NYC Health + Hospitals 1875 establishments in New York (state) Public hospitals in the United States