Bellevue Hospital (est. 1736): NYC, NY - Oldest Hospital In America

Bellevue Hospital (est. 1736) located in NYC, New York is the oldest hospital in America. It first opened just four years after the birth of George Washington and 40 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The hospital traces its origin from New York’s first permanent almshouse which was a two-story building built in 1736 on the city common, now City Hall Park. 

In 1798, the city purchased Belle Vue farm, a property near the East River several miles north of the settled city, which had been used to quarantine the sick during a series of yellow fever outbreaks. The hospital was formally named Bellevue Hospital in 1824, In 1799, the hospital became the first in the US to open a maternity ward. In 1867, the physicians from the hospital were also the first to report that TB was a preventable disease. The hospital can handle 30,000 inpatients, 105,000 emergency visits, and 460,000 outpatient clinic visits per year. Bellevue has an academic affiliation with the New York University School of Medicine, which enhances the quality of care provided to Bellevue patients. Bellevue is the medical facility for dignitaries visiting New York City, including the President of the United States and United Nations diplomats. 

Bellevue has defined the standard of practice for microsurgical replantation of hands, fingers and limbs as well as brain and spinal cord injuries. Its Geriatric Ambulatory Care Program is among the largest in the nation, caring for more than 5,000 seniors annually. In perinatal care, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is the Regional Perinatal Center for the 11 hospitals within the health system.