Boston Medical Center

Infobox Hospital
Name = PAGENAME
Org/Group =


Caption = Menino Pavilion from Albany Street

Location = Boston
Region =
State = Massachusetts
Country = US
HealthCare = Private, Medicare, Medicaid
Type = Teaching
Speciality =
Standards =
Emergency = I
Affiliation= Boston University
Beds = 581
Occupancy Rate = 80%
Founded = 1855
Closed =
Website = http://www.bmc.org/
Wiki-Links = |

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a non-profit 581-bed medical center in Boston, Massachusetts. It was created by the formal merger of Boston City Hospital (BCH) and Boston University Medical Center Hospital (BUMCH) in July 1996. BCH was founded in 1855, and BUMCH in 1864 as the first municipal hospital in the United States. It has the largest 24-hour Level I trauma center in New England, and the Emergency Department had more than 120,000 visits in 2005. BMC's self-stated mission is to "provide consistently excellent and accessible health services to all in need of care regardless of status and ability to pay." In 2005, Boston Medical Center provided more than $294 million in free care to uninsured patients.

BMC employs more than 1,600 in-house physicians — including 600 residents and fellows — and almost 1,500 nurses. It is part of the consortium of hospitals which operates Boston MedFlight. BMC is the primary teaching hospital for the Boston University School of Medicine

Patient care

Boston Medical Center provides a comprehensive range of inpatient, clinical and diagnostic services in more than 70 areas of medical specialties and subspecialties, including cardiac care and surgery, hypertension, neurological care, orthopedics, geriatrics and women’s health.

upporting services

The hospital offers an unusually broad array of services, extending beyond traditional medical procedures. With its long history of serving the low-income population, the hospital has targeted innovative programs at certain categories of special needs which disproportionately affect this demographic. These include: [ [http://www.wbur.org/news/2006/58903_20060622.asp Boston Medical Center Documentary (from the WBUR Newsroom) ] ]

* A food pantry against which doctors can write prescriptions for undernourished patients
* Home visits to ensure patients and their families are following care instructions, and to identify problems at home which may lead to medical conditions
* Lawyers on staff to help people navigate government assistance programs, and to deal with landlords who maintain unhealthy conditions
* Special counseling and asylum assistance for victims of torture and political persecution
* Training for first responders dealing with children who have witnessed violence
* Pediatricians giving books to families with children to promote reading

The hospital offers the most extensive interpreter services program in New England. In addition to providing person-to-person interpreters on-site in more than 30 languages, 24-hours-a-day, the department utilizes the latest advances in technology such as telephonic and video interpreting. In 2005, interpreter services assisted in more than 162,000 interactions with patients and visitors.

Boston Medical Center also offers numerous outreach programs and services, including skin cancer screenings, cholesterol tests, blood pressure screenings, prostate cancer screenings, osteoporosis screenings, eye exams, smoking cessation counseling and flu shots. In addition, cancer education and prevention seminars are offered in the community, and youth outreach workers are trained for involvement in schools and health fairs.

Teaching and affiliations

Boston Medical Center is the principal teaching affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine. Every member of the hospital’s medical and dental staff holds an academic appointment at the Boston University School of Medicine or at the Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Boston Medical Center operates 44 residency training programs with more than 620 resident and fellowship positions.

Boston Medical Center also has a clinical affiliation with Quincy Medical Center. More than 30 Boston Medical Center physicians are on the Quincy Medical Center staff providing clinical leadership and quality oversight. Boston Medical Center physicians serve as the Chiefs of Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, and Radiology.

Research

Boston Medical Center received more than $86 million in sponsored research funding in 2006, and oversees over 400 research and service projects separate from research activities at Boston University School of Medicine. The researchers at Boston Medical Center conduct both basic, laboratory-based biomedical research, and clinical research programs, including the Sickle Cell Center, infectious disease, cardiology, vascular biology, Parkinson's Disease, geriatrics, endocrinology and hematology/oncology.

BioSquare

BioSquare is a 16-acre research and business park currently under development by Boston University and Boston Medical Center. BioSquare now consists of three biomedical research buildings: the Center for Advanced Biomedical Research, Evans Biomedical Research Building, and 670 Albany Street; two parking garages and retail space. Construction is ongoing on the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories.

HealthNet Plan

The Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan is a MassHealth (Medicaid) managed care organization founded by Boston Medical Center in 1997. BMC HealthNet Plan has grown to more than 150,000 members served by participating providers in Greater Boston and in Southeastern and Western Massachusetts. The Plan offers comprehensive coverage and personal physicians who provide care for the whole family; interpreter services; and a personal membership card. It also provides additional member benefits beyond MassHealth including free car seats, bike helmets, manual breast pumps for nursing mothers, and a member and provider hotlines.

Employees

Boston Medical Center employs 4,429 full-time equivalent employees, consisting of more than 1,600 in-house physicians — including 600 residents and fellows — and almost 1,500 nurses.

References

External links

* [http://www.bmc.org/ Boston Medical Center]
* [http://www.bumc.bu.edu/ Boston University Medical Campus]
* [http://www.bmchp.org/ Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan]
* [http://www.wbur.org/news/2006/58903_20060622.asp Boston Medical Center Documentary] By Rachel Gotbaum. WBUR. 2006 audio documentary on the 10th anniversary of the merger, describing history and innovative programs of BMC. (RealAudio)