Ellis Hospital

Description

The Ellis Hospital facility features stateoftheart diagnostic imaging a modern 36bed Intensive Care Unit and one of the most advanced health information technology systems in Northeastern New York

History

Three TraditionsOne Invaluable Hospital
Throughout Schenectadys maturation from a small canal town to a railroad center and then into an industrial city Ellis Hospital has been a trusted source for health care in the community Today Ellis Hospital combines the traditions of the former Bellevue Womans Hospital and the former St Clares Hospital into a stronger unified organization

In the wake of a November 2006 state report for reforming health care that mandated that Bellevue Womans Hospital be closed and that St Clares and Ellis merge Bellevue and St Clares found themselves facing insurmountable financial shortfalls As a result of these fiscal pressures Bellevue Womans Hospital and St Clares Hospital were forced to surrender their licenses in November 2007 and June 2008 respectively In each instance Ellis Hospital assumed responsibility for the services previously offered by these hospitals ensuring a continuation of a full range of health care services uninterrupted in the community

As such Ellis Hospital now moves forward in its history buoyed by the strength that comes from combining these three great traditions The legacies of the former Bellevue Womans Hospital and the former St Clares Hospital are now an inextricable part of Ellis Hospitals history Click on the links below to learn more about the unique contributions of these organizations

Historical information is derived from Larry Harts book Hospital on the Hill

Ellis history began on Christmas Day in 1885 when the Schenectady Free Dispensary the forerunner of Ellis Hospital was opened in a two story building at 408 Union Street The five bed ward served as the citys first medical facility at a time when the population topped 13000 and was in dire need of an infirmary Community spirit motivated a small group of concerned citizens to lay plans for the Schenectady Free Dispensary following the death of an Erie Canal barge tender

Eight years later on March 27 1893 a new hospital with 30 beds and ambulance service provided by a horse drawn vehicle opened on Jay Street where Schenectady City Hall now stands The new hospital was established through the charitable support of the community along with the help of Charles G Ellis president of Schenectady Locomotive Works When he died in 1891 Charles Ellis left a 25000 bequest for the establishment of a hospital in memory of his father John Ellis the founder Schenectady Locomotive Works

In 1893 a hospital school was also established offering a three year course in professional nursing That school was the forerunner to the Ellis Hospital School of Nursing which today is located on the Belanger Campus on Erie Boulevard in Schenectady

From the start the history of Ellis has been one of continued expansion and progress to meet community needs A new 60 bed hospital opened on October 16 1906 quotout in the countryquot at Nott Street and Rosa Road A 40 bed wing was added in 1908 and the construction of a 75 bed wing was completed in 1915 The Ellis Hospital Pathological Laboratory was established in 1917 and a threestory Bwing was completed in 1939 On August 12 1940 the first blood bank east of Chicago was established at Ellis In 1943 Ellis became affiliated with American Medical College for the training of senior medical students This affiliation was expanded in 1957 for the training of house physicians and post graduate medical education

Over the next four decades Ellis experienced rapid technological and physical growth In 1959 the fifth and sixth floors were added to the Bwing where ten modern operating suites and a recovery room were located Construction of the Hwing today called the Cwing was completed in 1965 at the corner of Nott Street and Rosa Road which provided an expanded emergency room an admitting and discharge lobby and a cardiac care unit By 1972 the Intensive Care Unit on H6 and the Surgical Unit on H5 were completed The CT scan was introduced in 1976 followed by the opening of the Awing in 1977 and the MacDonald Oncology Unit in 1980 During 1980 Ellis opened a cardiac catheterization laboratory kidney dialysis center birthing unit and a sports medicine center

The first open heart surgery was performed at Ellis in 1991 The Warren amp Pauline Bruggeman Center for Diagnosis amp Treatment was established in 1998 In 2002 renovations to an expanded emergency department at Ellis were completed marking the opening of the new Golub Center for Emergency Services The 36 bed twostory Beulah T Hinkle Intensive Care Unit opened in June 2006 in the hospitals new E wing

Building upon the benevolence of the people and a commitment to superior health care Ellis Hospital has continued to flourish through the years Today Ellis Hospital is planning for a new expansion as it works to effectively reconfigure hospital care having recently combined the traditions of the former Bellevue Womans Hospital and the former St Clares Hospital into a single unified organization