History

A Bronx Legacy

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln has provided health care services to the community for over 177 years. Initially known as “The Home for the Colored Aged,” the facility first began providing services in 1839 in a building located on 51st Street and the Hudson River.

Founded by the “Society for the Relief of Worthy Aged Indigent Colored Persons,” the facility’s original mission was to serve as a Home for aged black people, many of whom had been slaves prior to the abolition of slavery in New York City. In 1843, in order to accommodate an increasing population, the “Home” moved to 40th Street and Park Avenue.

In 1850, further expansion necessitated a third move to a larger facility on First Avenue between 64th and 65th Streets. The institution now not only included “The Home for the Colored Aged,” but a hospital and Nursery Department. In 1882, the Institution’s name was changed to “The Colored Home and Hospital.” The Institution moved to its first Bronx location on 141st and Concord Avenue in 1898. In 1902, The Colored Home and Hospital officially became known as Lincoln Hospital and Home.

Over the next 100-year period, Lincoln underwent several major renovation and expansion projects to accommodate an increasing patient population and changing community health care needs. In 1900, the Maternity and “Consumptive” (Tuberculosis) Pavilions were opened. Within the next few years from 1905 to 1906, the Consumptive Pavilion was renovated and converted into wards and an outpatient department opened.

In 1935, the facility underwent a major reconstruction; and over forty years later, on March 28, 1976, the current facility was opened.

Today, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln is a full service acute care hospital and one of the Premier Trauma Centers in the country. The hospital offers comprehensive primary, secondary, preventive and specialty care services. Many of our programs are nationally recognized for outstanding clinical outcomes that meet or exceed established benchmarks. Our medical staff and administrators are among the finest in New York City. And our Centers of Excellence provide a level of care that places us at the forefront of medicine.