Haven’t you noticed the constant bustle around Tufts Medical Center South Cove? Tufts Medical Center’s story began in 1796. It started as the Boston Dispensary. It was New England’s first permanent medical facility. It was also one of the first in the United States.
The Boston Dispensary aimed to provide free medical care to the city’s poor. Early donors included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. Revere even signed tickets that allowed the poor to receive medical care. You can still see one of these tickets at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Modeled after a London dispensary, it focused on helping the underserved. Volunteer doctors and nurses provided free home visits. They created dental and nutrition clinics. Most famously, they started an evening clinic for the working poor. Employers partially funded this clinic.
The Boston Dispensary pioneered many common medical practices. It always provided high-quality care. The Dispensary partnered with other institutions over time. A key partnership was with the Boston Floating Hospital for Children in 1930. This was New England’s first pediatric hospital. The Dispensary became the primary teaching hospital for Tufts University’s medical and dental schools.
In 1946, the Pratt Diagnostic Clinic joined the partnership. It was the world’s largest clinic of its kind. In 1968, these affiliations became Tufts New England Medical Center. The name shortened to Tufts Medical Center in 2008. This change reflected the close relationship with Tufts University.
Tufts Medical Center played a vital role in medical innovations. The Boston Dispensary established the first U.S. lung clinic in 1899. In 1918, it started a food clinic. This is now the Frances Stern Nutrition Center. Around 1919, Dr. Alfred Bosworth invented Similac infant formula. In 1927, Dr. William Hinton perfected a syphilis diagnostic test.
Later, in 1952, the first preparation of human growth hormone was developed. The term “immunosuppression” was coined in 1958. This referred to suppressing the immune system to prevent transplant rejection. In 1963, the Family Participation Unit allowed parents to stay overnight with their children. The world’s first pediatric trauma center was established in 1981.
In 1997, the Neely House opened. It’s a bed and breakfast-style home for families of cancer patients. In 2001, the “Hope Through Sharing” transplant exchange program began.
Tufts Medical Center has a Level I Trauma Center. It has a helipad for Boston MedFlight. The Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute resides here. It is the oldest pediatric trauma center in the country.
The hospital became a leader in heart transplants in 2016. In 2022, it relaunched its liver transplant program. This program is within the Abdominal Transplant Institute.
Tufts Medical Center is in downtown Boston near Chinatown. The Tufts Medical Center MBTA station is on the Orange Line. There is also a Silver Line stop here.
Tufts Medical Center continues its mission today. It is a community-based teaching and research hospital. It dedicates itself to innovation, leadership, and high standards of care. The hospital remains committed to serving its community.