Tufts Medical Center (until 2008 Tufts-New England Medical Center) in

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 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

is a downtown Boston hospital midway between

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

and the

Boston Theater District The Boston Theater District is the center of Boston's theater scene. Many of its theaters are on Washington Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, and Huntington Avenue. History Plays were banned in Boston by the Puritans until 1792. Bosto ...

. The hospital is a community based medical center for biomedical research and is the principal

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

for

Tufts University School of Medicine The Tufts University School of Medicine is the medical school of Tufts University, a Private university, private research university in Massachusetts. It was established in 1893 and is located on the university's health sciences campus in downto ...

where all full-time Tufts physicians hold faculty appointments; the center is connected to

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) is a private, American dental school located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, and is connected to Tufts Medical Center. It is one of the 8 graduate schools that compris ...

. Tufts Medical Center is subdivided into a full-service adult hospital and the

Tufts Children's Hospital Tufts Children's Hospital (formerly Floating Hospital for Children) in Boston, Massachusetts was a downtown Boston pediatric hospital owned by Tufts Medical Center, occupying the space between Chinatown and the Boston Theater District, which ...

(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 Lawrence General Hospital is private non-profit hospital with 189 beds in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It is affiliated with Tufts Children's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. Facilities ...

and

Lowell General Hospital Founded in 1891, Lowell General Hospital is an independent, not-for-profit community hospital serving the Greater Lowell area and surrounding communities. With two primary campuses located in Lowell, Massachusetts, Lowell General Hospital offers ...

and

MelroseWakefield Hospital MelroseWakefield Hospital is a 174-bed non-profit hospital located in Melrose, Massachusetts. MelroseWakefield Hospital is affiliated with Lawrence Memorial Hospital of Medford. MelroseWakefield Hospital provides many different areas of patient ...

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 The Boston Dispensary (est.1796) or Boston Medical Dispensary provided for "medical relief of the poor" in Boston, Massachusetts, from the late 18th century through the mid-20th century. It was one of the first hospitals in the United States. In t ...

was established as the first permanent medical facility in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

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 Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

and

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...

.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 Rev. Rufus B. Tobey (1849–1920) was a Congregationalist pastor who founded the Floating Hospital for Children in Boston, which was later renamed Tufts Children's Hospital at Tufts Medical Center. Rufus Babcock Tobey was born in New Bedford, M ...

. 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 Tufts Children's Hospital (formerly Floating Hospital for Children) in Boston, Massachusetts was a downtown Boston pediatric hospital owned by Tufts Medical Center, occupying the space between Chinatown and the Boston Theater District, which ...

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 Immunosuppression is a reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immunosuppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse react ...

," and also brought to light the link between

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

and heart

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

. 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 Frances Stern (1873–1947) was one of the first nutritionists in the United States. In 1918 she founded the Boston Dispensary Food Clinic, which evolved into what is now the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center. Early life and ...

Nutrition Center. * Around 1919, Dr. Alfred Bosworth invented a synthetic milk product for infants, known and sold today as

Similac Similac (for "similar to lactation") is a brand of infant formula that was developed by Alfred Bosworth of Tufts University and marketed by Abbott Laboratories. It was first released in the late 1920s, and then reformulated and concentrated in 195 ...

brand of

infant formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...

. * In 1927, Dr. William Hinton perfected the diagnostic test for

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

, which is still used today. * In 1952, the first preparation of

human growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in h ...

was developed. * In 1958, the suppression of the body's

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...

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 Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

-style home within the walls of the hospital. The facility hosts the families of adult and pediatric

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

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

is the home of the

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

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 A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergenc ...

since 2012, one of 5 Boston adult trauma centers. Tufts Medical Center is part of the consortium of hospitals which operates

Boston MedFlight Boston MedFlight (BMF) (incorporated as New England Life Flight) is a non-profit organization that provides emergency scene response and emergency interfacility transfer in Eastern Massachusetts at the Critical Care level, which is higher than ...

, and is equipped with a rooftop

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

Transportation

Tufts Medical Center is located in Boston's

, near many highways including Interstates 90 and 93. The Tufts Medical Center MBTA Station is on the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

Orange Line and there is a connecting Silver Line stop beneath the overpass connecting the main atrium with

. Also within a short walking distance is

Boylston station Boylston station (also signed as Boylston Street) is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located on the southeast corner of Boston Common at the intersection of Boylston Street and Tremont Street. A ...

on the Green Line and

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...

, a major

transportation hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

serving the

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...

MBTA Red Line The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south and east underground from Alewife station in North Cambridge through Somerville and Ca ...

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, and several Chinatown buses with links to

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 ...

References

External links

Tufts Medical Center

Floating Hospital for Children
{{authority control 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