{{about|a Boston-based organization|a similarly-named New York-based organization|Floating Hospital}} {{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox hospital | name = Tufts Children's Hospital | org_group = | logo = Tufts Children's Hospital.png | logo_size = | image = Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston Massachusetts.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|42.349912|-71.064340|region:US-MA|format=dms|display=inline}} | location = 755 Washington Street | region = [[Boston]] | state = [[Massachusetts]] | country = [[United States]] | healthcare = Nonprofit | type = Teaching | affiliation = [[Tufts University School of Medicine]] | standards = | emergency = '''Formerly a [[Trauma center#Pediatric trauma centers|Level I Pediatric Trauma Center]]''' | helipad = Yes | beds = 128 | speciality = Pediatrics | founded = 1894 | closed = 2022 | website = [https://www.tuftschildrenshospital.org/ https://www.tuftschildrenshospital.org/] | other_links = }}

'''Tufts Children's Hospital''' (formerly '''Floating Hospital for Children''') in [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]] was a downtown Boston pediatric hospital owned by [[Tufts Medical Center]],<ref>[http://www.neqca.org/Newsroom/News-Archive/2013/South-Shore-physicians.aspx About Tufts Medical Center] NEQCA.org, Retrieved 3 Nov. 2015</ref> occupying the space between [[Chinatown, Boston|Chinatown]] and the [[Boston Theater District]],<ref>[http://www.bostonhistory.org/?s=education&p=histmarkers&sub=m_china Historic Markers: Chinatown/Theater District] BostonHistory.org, Retrieved 3 Nov. 2015</ref> which closed in summer 2022.

In January 2022, Tufts announced they would be closing their 41-bed pediatric hospital later in 2022 but will keep their [[NICU]] open. It closed in June 2022.

The 41-bed children's hospital offered pediatric inpatient and outpatient services in every medical and surgical specialty. Tufts Children's Hospital was also the principal pediatric [[teaching hospital]] for [[Tufts University School of Medicine]], where all full-time physicians held faculty appointments.

Tufts Children's Hospital was a member of [https://www.tuftsmedicine.org// Tufts Medicine] and has affiliations with hospitals in the community, including [[Lawrence General Hospital]],<ref>[https://lawrencegeneral.org/uploads/Final.pdf Top Floating Hospital for Children Pediatricians Now at Lawrence General] LawrenceGeneral.org, Retrieved 3 Nov. 2015</ref> [[Lowell General Hospital]],<ref>[https://www.greaterlowellpediatrics.com/meet-us/ Our Affiliations] Greater Lowell Pediatrics, Retrieved 3 Nov. 2015</ref> [[MetroWest Medical Center]], [[Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital]] and [[Cape Cod Hospital]].<ref>[http://www.capecod.com/newscenter/tufts-floating-hospital-and-cape-cod-hospital-form-pediatric-partnership/ Tufts Floating Hospital and Cape Cod Hospital Form Pediatric Partnership] CapeCod.com 29 Oct. 2015, Retrieved 3 Nov. 2015</ref> Tufts Children's Hospital had Specialty Centers in [[Woburn, Massachusetts|Woburn]], [[Chelmsford, Massachusetts|Chelmsford]], [[Westford, Massachusetts|Westford]] and [[Lawrence, Massachusetts|Lawrence]] provided sub-specialist care for children on an outpatient basis. Along with the [https://www.neqca.org/ New England Quality Care Alliance] (NEQCA), a 1,600-physician network, who provide care to patients throughout eastern Massachusetts. NEQCA's primary care physicians care for more than 550,000 patients. Some ambulatory sub-specialty centers remained open after the main hospital’s closure.

==History== [[File:The Harvard medical school and its clinical opportunities (1916) (14777891004).jpg|thumb|left|The Harvard medical school and its clinical opportunities (1916) (14777891004)]] [[File:The Harvard medical school and its clinical opportunities (1916) (14777893714).jpg|thumb|left|The Harvard medical school and its clinical opportunities (1916) (14777893714)]] Floating Hospital for Children began as a hospital ship sailing the [[Boston Harbor]] for the first time in 1894.<ref>[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/19/4/629.abstract A History of the Boston Floating Hospital] American Academy of Pediatrics, April 1957, Retrieved 2 Nov. 2015</ref> The hospital was founded by [[Rufus Tobey]], a Congregationalist minister; and The Rev. [[Edward Everett Hale]], a minister and social activist. Boston's [[Lend A Hand Society]], founded by Hale, assisted with fundraising and administrative support.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History, season of 1900 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015076377756&seq=50 |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=HathiTrust |language=en}}</ref> For a time, the boat was also used for parties on Boston harbor, with the leisure cruise ending at midnight and hospital services opening at 8am.<ref>Chakrabarti, Meghna, Brooks, Anthony, & Kulig, John. (1 October 2014). [https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/10/01/boston-floating-kulig 12 Things You Didn’t Know About The History Of Boston’s Floating Hospital For Children]. ''Radio Boston'', WBUR. Archived (Text of Interview) in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170418165723/https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/10/01/boston-floating-kulig Wayback Machine] on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2022.</ref><ref name="radio">Chakrabarti, Meghna, Brooks, Anthony, & Kulig, John. (1 October 2014). [http://radioboston.wbur.org/2014/10/01/boston-floating-kulig 12 Things You Didn’t Know About The History Of Boston’s Floating Hospital For Children]. ''Radio Boston'', WBUR. Archived (Text and Audio) in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20141008033500/http://radioboston.wbur.org/2014/10/01/boston-floating-kulig Wayback Machine] on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2022.</ref> Heralded as a major innovation in pediatric medicine, the mission of the hospital ship was to take ill urban children out onto the harbor to experience the healing qualities{{explain|date=September 2020}} of fresh sea air and sunshine.<ref>Comeau, Elizabeth. (2014). [https://web.archive.org/web/20141108163817/http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/gallery/Floating_hospital?pg=2 Inside the Floating Hospital for Children]. ''Boston.com'', Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. Archived in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20141108173826/http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/gallery/Floating_hospital?pg=3 Wayback Machine] on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2022</ref> By the end of the first summer, 1,100 children were treated. For 33 years, Floating Hospital for Children was located on two successive vessels helping children and educating mothers about dysentery and other important health issues. Furthermore, two major advancements made on board were the development of a human milk bank to supply breast milk to sick infants,<ref>[http://milkbankwgl.org/history-of-u-s-milk-banking/ History of U.S. Milk Banking] Mother's Milk Bank of Western Great Lakes, Retrieved 12 Nov. 2015</ref> and the creation of the first effective synthetic milk product for infants ([[infant formula]]), still sold worldwide today as [[Similac]].<ref>[http://tuftsdaily.com/features/2014/10/09/history-hill-floating-hospital-children/ History on the Hill: Floating Hospital for Children] The Tufts Daily, 9 Oct. 2014, Retrieved 2 Nov. 2015</ref> The Floating Hospital claims to be the first with air conditioning in 1906,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3854|title=Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Timeline - Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Twentieth Century|website=www.greatachievements.org}}</ref> though the [[Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast]] claims to be the world's first air-conditioned public building.

In 1927 the Floating Hospital ship was destroyed by fire, and an on-shore facility was created for research and some clinical specialties.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/01/nyregion/long-lived-floating-hospital-is-still-going-just-not-floating.html?pagewanted=all Long-Lived Floating Hospital Is Still Going, Just Not Floating] New York Times 1 Sept. 2003, Retrieved 12 Nov. 2015</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141108173826/http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/gallery/Floating_hospital?pg=3 Inside the Floating Hospital for Children] Boston.com, Retrieved 2 Nov. 2015</ref> It also began an affiliation with [[Tufts University School of Medicine]] and Tufts Medical Center's predecessor, the [[Boston Dispensary]]. Floating Hospital for Children officially merged with [[Tufts Medical Center]] in 1965,<ref>[http://dl.tufts.edu/catalog/ead/tufts:UA069.001.DO.MS213 NEMC archives - Boston Floating Hospital, 1890-2014] Tufts Digital Library, Retrieved 2 Nov. 2015</ref> but retained its name until it became Tufts Children's Hospital in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Floating Hospital renamed Tufts Children's Hospital {{!}} Tufts Children's Hospital|url=https://www.tuftschildrenshospital.org/home/news-events-media/press-releases/2020/floating-hospital-for-children-renamed-tufts-childrens-hospital|access-date=2020-09-21|website=www.tuftschildrenshospital.org|language=en}}</ref>

In January 2022, Tufts announced they would be closing their 41-bed pediatric hospital as of July 2022 but will keep their [[NICU]] open. This closure will allow the hospital to expand the treatment of adult patients. Tufts will now refer pediatric patients to Boston Children’s Hospital.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dayal McCluskey |first=Priyanka |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/01/20/metro/tufts-medical-center-will-close-its-pediatric-hospital-after-more-than-century-treating-sick-kids/ |title=Tufts Medical Center will close its pediatric hospital after more than a century of treating sick kids |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=2022-01-20 |accessdate=2022-01-20 }}</ref>

==Emergency Medicine== Tufts Medical Center, formally Tufts Children's Hospital is home to the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute (the oldest pediatric trauma center in the country).

==Transportation== The [[Tufts Medical Center (MBTA station)|Tufts Medical Center MBTA Station]] is on the [[MBTA Orange Line]] and there is a connecting [[MBTA Silver Line|Silver Line]] stop beneath the overpass connecting the main atrium with Tufts Children's Hospital. Also within a short walking distance is [[South Station]], a major transportation hub serving the [[MBTA Commuter Rail]], [[MBTA Red Line]], [[Greyhound Lines]], [[Amtrak]], and several [[Chinatown, Boston|Chinatown]] buses with links to [[New York City]].

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book| title=The Boston Floating Hospital: How a Boston Harbor Barge Changed the Course of Pediatric Medicine |author1= Lucie Prinz |author2=Jacoba van Schaik |year=2014 |publisher=Boston Floating Hospital |isbn=978-1934598153}}

==External links== * [https://www.tuftschildrenshospital.org/ Tufts Children's Hospital Official Website] * [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/22/business/tufts-renames-floating-hospital-children-sparking-mixed-reactions/ Tufts renames Floating Hospital for Children, sparking mixed reactions] {{Massachusetts Trauma Centers}}{{Hospitals in Massachusetts}} {{authority control}}

[[Category:Children's hospitals in the United States]] [[Category:Hospitals in Boston]] [[Category:Teaching hospitals in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Pediatric trauma centers]]