Newton-Wellesley Hospital history

First, some background: The facility opened its doors in 1886 as the Newton Cottage Hospital, the result of a suggestion from the rector of Newton’s Grace Episcopal Church to the Mayor of Newton that the city would benefit greatly from the establishment of its own hospital.

1890: The first baby is born in the hospital.

In 1897, two Wellesley residents who served on the Hospital’s Ladies’ Aid Association did just that for their own town’s poor, successfully negotiating the establishment of a free bed at the hospital that would be assigned exclusively to Wellesley residents.

1898: The first children are admitted to the hospital’s new Elizabeth Dennison Ward for Children, which is donated by Charles Sumner Dennison in memory of his young daughter, Elizabeth.

1902: The hospital’s first X-ray machine is installed.

Eleven years earlier, in 1905, the Wellesley Club had established the Wellesley Hospital Fund to raise money to construct a hospital within the town (or donate it should one be privately built).

1908: The Newton Cottage Hospital, now a sprawling institution of cottages, tunnels, and gardens, changes its name to the Newton Hospital.

1927: The South and East wings are opened, complete with a dedicated accident floor to care for emergency patients.

A few years later, in 1929, as the new six-story medical center was nearing completion, the committee tried raising the necessary funds once again.

Main building at Newton Hospital (Source: 1933 Scultetus via archive.org)

Wellesley caught off guard: The great New England hurricane of 1938

1939: The first full-time resident doctor comes to the hospital, marking the beginning of our program of postgraduate medical education.

1943: The hospital’s name changes to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Indeed, Wellesley began this debate more than 100 years ago, the result of which was a partnership with the Newton Hospital, a medical center located a mere half-mile from the Wellesley border and officially known since 1945 as Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

1954: Our Surgical Service installs its first pacemaker.

1965: The hospital becomes the first of seven area institutions to participate in a joint computer program sponsored by the Massachusetts Hospital Association.

1971: The hospital’s West Wing is completed, providing new patient units for Orthopedics, Cardiology and Special Amenities, as well as 11 new operating rooms and a post-anesthesia unit.

1978: The Emergency Department reorganizes to employ only board-certified emergency physicians, becoming the first community hospital in Massachusetts to require this credentialing.

1986: The hospital’s first in-vitro baby is born.

1992: The hospital performs its first cardiac catheterization procedure.

1999: The hospital joins the Mass General Brigham system, founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

2009: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) recognizes Newton-Wellesley Hospital as one of 26 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals in the United States that have achieved exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care.