History and Milestones

Our record of serving Greater Boston communities

Since our founding in the late 1800s, Newton-Wellesley Hospital has provided outstanding care to our friends and neighbors in the Greater Boston area. Explore some of the many watershed moments that have shaped our success over the years.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital
2014 Washington Street
Newton, MA 02462
Phone: 617-243-6000

Our Timeline

The below milestones are just a few in our long history of service:

• 1881: Newton-Wellesley Hospital, originally called Newton Cottage Hospital, was incorporated in 1881. The idea for the hospital began when a local reverend, George W. Shinn, encouraged the mayor of Newton, Royal M. Pulsifer, to provide health care services for sick members of the community. Nine acres were purchased for the building.
• 1886: The nine-bed Newton Cottage Hospital opens on June 5, and the first patient is admitted on June 12. By the end of the first year, the hospital treats 40 patients.
• 1890: The first baby is born in the hospital.
• 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.
• 1908: The Newton Cottage Hospital, now a sprawling institution of cottages, tunnels, and gardens, changes its name to the Newton Hospital.
• 1917: The hospital erects tents and temporary buildings to deal with the influenza epidemic and the influx of wounded from World War I.
• 1927: The South and East wings are opened, complete with a dedicated accident floor to care for emergency patients. These patients are transported by some of the first horseless ambulances.
• 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.
• 1945-1948: The Cardiology Department, Gastroenterology Service, and Allergy Service are established.
• 1954: Our Surgical Service installs its first pacemaker.
• 1962: The hospital welcomes a chaplain and chaplain coordinator.
• 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. Today, Newton-Wellesley Hospital is a fully integrated institution in the system.
• 2007: The hospital receives Level 1A Bariatric Surgery Center accreditation — the highest level a center can receive — from the American College of Surgeons.
• 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.