Bellevue Hospital In New York Has A Dark And Fascinating History

Bellevue Hospital in New York has a truly fascinating history. Founded in 1736, it's the oldest public hospital in the United States.

Many notable accomplishments have occurred at Bellevue in its nearly 300-year history.

In 1799, Bellevue opened the first maternity ward in the United States. The first mobile treatment centers, (which were forerunners to modern day ambulances, though at that time they were horse-drawn), started here in 1869. Bellevue even housed New York City's first city morgue!

Despite these many achievements, Bellevue is probably best known for its psychiatric ward, one of the first in the nation.

Unfortunately, treatment of the mentally ill was not always humane in those times. There are many horror stories of abuse suffered by patients at Bellevue.

The hospital has always been a public facility intended to treat all, regardless of their ability to pay. Due to this, it was often a holding place for "foundlings" (orphaned children or babies that were abandoned).

Some reports state that at times, rats fed on the flesh of ill or dying children. The conditions of all hospitals in this time period were poor compared to what we are used to today. Sadly, since Bellevue catered to the lowest rungs of society, conditions were often particularly bad there.

Patients were often crowded into rooms and sometimes even tents when rooms ran out.

Criminals were frequently brought to the hospital and suffered through horrific medical procedures.

Surgery without anesthesia was common in this time period. Insulin shock therapy was another nightmare treatment. It caused horrible seizures but had the supposed benefit of calming people with behavioral issues.

Today, thankfully, we live in a world with hospital reform and patients at Bellevue are treated humanely regardless of their medical conditions or ability to pay.

Bellevue is still operating in the present-day, now under the official name NYC Health + Hospitals / Bellevue. It is still one of the largest hospitals in the country by number of beds, with nearly 850.

For another place in New York with a creepy backstory, check out the Island of the Dead, Hart Island.