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. 2005 Sep;1(1):3-8.
doi: 10.1007/s11420-005-0116-0.

Hospital for Special Surgery: origin and early history first site 1863-1870

David B Levine  1
Affiliations

Hospital for Special Surgery: origin and early history first site 1863-1870

David B Levine. HSS J. 2005 Sep.

Abstract

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) originated as the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled (R&C) 142 years ago in New York City. As the first and only orthopaedic hospital of its kind in this country, it was located in the residence of its founder James Knight on Second Avenue, south of Sixth Street, and started with 28 inpatient beds for children but no operating facilities. The history of this institution has been documented in two books and occasionally published and unpublished papers. Many of these accounts have been limited by time, focus on a particular subject, or overall reviews. The emergence of such a specialized facility in the middle of the 19th century during a time of medicine in its infancy, our country at war and the city of New York racked in poverty, disease, civil riots, and political corruption is a story not necessarily appreciated in our day. The vision of one little-known physician and the cooperation and support of a small group of prominent New Yorkers and philanthropists were responsible for the origin of this hospital and particularly for its survival in such troubled times when most small hospitals of this period lasted only for a few years. Fortunately, almost all of the original Annual Reports of the Board of Managers, photographs, manuscripts, personal records, and newspaper clippings have been saved. They are now being collected, preserved, catalogued, and displayed in the newly formed HSS Archives from which this material has been taken.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
This portrait of James Knight hangs in the Richard L. Menschel Conference Center of Hospital for Special Surgery. It shows this elderly gentleman with a wig, holding in his hand his text entitled Orthopaedia. He seems to be at peace with the world
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
From 1863 to 1870 the Hospital for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled occupied the residence of James Knight at 97 Second Avenue just south of Sixth Street. A commercial building is currently at this site
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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