Boston Massachusetts General Hospital


Founded in 1811, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is the third oldest general hospital in the United States and the oldest and largest in New England. The 893-bed world-renowned medical center offers sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic care in virtually every specialty and subspecialty of medicine and surgery.

Each year the MGH admits approximately 44,000 inpatients and handles almost 1.5 million visits in its extensive outpatient programs at the main campus and at its four health centers, in the Back Bay, Charlestown, Chelsea and Revere. Its emergency services handles nearly 75,000 visits annually. Each year the surgical staff performs more than 32,000 operations, and the MGH Vincent Obstetrics Service delivers more than 3,600 babies.

The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $450 million. It is the oldest and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and nearly all of the hospital's active staff physicians are on the Harvard Medical School faculty.
The MGH is the largest nongovernment employer in the city of Boston, with more than 19,500 employees, including a nursing staff of 2,900. In addition, its 3,600-member medical staff includes physicians, dentists, psychologists, podiatrists, residents and fellows.

In March 1994, the MGH joined with Brigham and Women's Hospital to form Partners HealthCare System, Inc., an affiliation established to create an integrated health care delivery system providing excellent, cost-effective care while maintaining the hospital's historic dedication to teaching and research. In addition to the founding institutions, Partners HealthCare System now includes North Shore Medical Center, Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Faulkner Hospital.

Partners' physician network, Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., currently includes more than 1,000 primary care physicians and 3,500 specialists. Partners also includes home health agencies, McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Belmont, Mass., and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. Partners also is involved in a collaborative program for adult oncology with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

In July 2004 the MGH was named one of the country's best hospitals by U.S. News and World Report for the fifteenth year, ranking third nationwide.