20 hospitals with humble beginnings

Becker's Hospital Review—August 6, 2014

One of America’s healthcare giants was founded by a widow who had $5 to her name. Another prominent hospital opened in the middle of the Civil War. And others trace their roots back to outdoor tents, private homes, a summer camp and a horse stable.

The following 20 hospitals appeared on Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2014 edition of 100 Great Hospitals in America. While each of those organizations has an interesting story to tell, these 20 grew from especially modest beginnings. Their stories serve as a good reminder of the people and places who shaped American healthcare – well before it was a multibillion-dollar industry.

Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City) was established in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, as a hospital to treat impoverished children with disabilities related to musculoskeletal diseases, making it the oldest orthopedic hospital in the nation. The 28-bed hospital was first called the Hospital for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled and was in the private residence of James Knight, MD, a general practitioner from Maryland. A group of prominent New Yorkers raised more than $200,000 for a new and larger facility, which opened in 1870 on the northwest corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.

Read the full article on beckershospitalreview.com.