History

The origins of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst can be traced back to the mid 1800s and an institution known as City Hospital. Built to serve the poor, it was New York’s second oldest municipal hospital and once occupied seven acres at the southern end of Welfare Island. It was the first hospital in the nation to substantially reduce incidences puerperal or “childbed” fever among its maternity ward patients and played a major role in treating victims of the 1918 flu epidemic.

Due to the rapid growth of New York’s population after World War II, City Hospital transferred to a new building in the Elmhurst section of Queens at 79-01 Broadway. The facility, now re-named NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and erected at a cost of $25.2 million by the Department of Public Works, opened in 1957. In 1964, the hospital became affiliated with the Mount Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine, which, along with the introduction of modern equipment, resulted in an expansion of tertiary care capacity.

The 1990s saw NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst undergo major renovations and upgrades of both inpatient and outpatient facilities. In recent years we have experienced dynamic growth while continuing our mission to provide quality healthcare for all. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst has been a designated Stroke Center since 2004 and in 2006 became the first hospital in Queens to be approved to perform Elective Angioplasty procedures. We opened The Hope Pavilion, a state-of-the-art cancer care center, in 2008, and recently broke ground for a new Women’s Health Pavilion, slated to be complete by 2012. Check out NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst historical timeline below:

19th Century

1860 – New building known as City Hospital completed

1862 – City Hospital cares for wounded Civil War soldiers

1875 – Full-fledged maternity services were established

20th Century

1911 – Dock house on Welfare Island converted into an emergency relief station for City Hospital and an ambulance service operated.

1957 – The City hospital at Elmhurst opened, Volunteer Department started

1964 – NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst became affiliated with Mt. Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine.

1982 – NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center

1985 – AIDS Treatment Program established

1997 – Introduction of first generation lab robot

21st Century

2000 – First hospital in NYC to use PACS System, eliminating hard-copy x-rays

2002 – First NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst facility to use outpatient pharmacy robot

2003 – First NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst facility to conduct laparoscopic surgery with daVinci surgical robot

2006 – NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Approved for elective angioplasty

2008 – NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst opens The Hope Pavilion, a state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility