Tufts Medical Marks 230 Years in Boston
For Tufts Medical Center in Boston’s Chinatown, the work never stops, even during a celebration. This reporter saw this firsthand standing in the building’s Atrium Lobby as workers shuffled past and climbed the stairs leading the stage of the 230th anniversary celebration of this teaching hospital. The space was decked out with blue and silver balloon towers that were topped with a big star-shaped balloon -- number “230” printed in the middle.
“You don’t get to be 230 years old without a lot of people there supporting your organization,” said John Herman, president of Tufts Medical Center, to a large crowd, during the celebration on Oct. 14. In attendance were Boston City Councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy; executive director of the Wang YMCA, Sokthea Phay; principal of Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Cynthia Soo Hoo; and many others.
Beginning as the Boston Dispensary in 1796, Tufts Medical Center is today a large, internationally known medical complex, part of the prestigious university in Medford. Its rich history was made possible by historic Bostonians, including Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. Established just 20 years after the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the nation, the goal was to make medical care accessible to those who needed it most, a mission that inevitably led to over two centuries of medical innovation.
Philip Okala, acting president and CEO of Tuft Medical, noted that today, “We are custodians of a legacy. I will not live to tell the complete story, but we have a part to play.”
Throughout the years, Tufts Medical in its various iterations has achieved many healthcare milestones. It conducted the world’s first experiment in group psychotherapy at the Boston Dispensary. It also created the 100-bed Pratt Diagnostic Clinic, the largest diagnostic clinic in the world at the time of its construction. In addition, it established early residency programs, marking the beginning of nearly a century of graduate medical education and physician training programs. It’s also credited with research that ended up contributing to the development of drugs that help allow the body to accept transplanted organs. The hospital also created the nation’s first community health center.
Okala reminded the audience that the medical center is more than its doctors and hospital rooms.
“We talk about our scientists and we talk about our physicians and we talk about our patients,” he said. “I want to talk about the thousands of volunteers who have walked the halls of our facility. I really want to talk about the transport assistants who make sure that patients and their families move from one floor to the next. I definitely want to talk about the nurse assistants and our nurses, who sometimes go nameless, and appear at the bedside to comfort our patients. I can assure you that I want to talk about our security officers who make sure that we step in here, so we have a sense of comfort and safety. It is no different how much I want to emphasize the third shifters.… Most of us don’t see them, let alone those who come in on Saturday morning and leave on Monday. That to me sustains a legacy.”
Others spoke of the hospital’s role as a healthcare provider in Chinatown and for immigrant residents.
Councilor Flynn spoke of how his two sons were born at Tufts Medical, and Councilor Murphy recalled the delivery of her own three children there.
“I’m a patient myself and when I look around, I think about, well what is a community, what is a city, what is a neighborhood if we don’t have our health?” she said.
Sherry Dong, executive director of Community Benefits and Community Health Initiatives at Tufts Medical Center, noted to Sampan the medical center’s role in the larger community.
“The financial security and mobility work is so important,” said Dong. “You know, people don’t connect that to health. But if you have a stable good paying job, learn better English, I mean that’s all going to help you in terms of being healthier, being able to afford good quality food and housing. So, I think those programs that people don’t think of traditionally as health (related) are equally as important.”
Tufts also runs the Teddy Bear Clinic in partnership with Josiah Quincy Elementary School.
“At Josiah Quincy Elementary School, we know that health and education are deeply interconnected,” said Principal Cynthia Soo Hoo. “When children are healthy and supported, they are far better equipped to learn, grow, and thrive.”
Comments