YNHH celebrates bicentennial: Advancing Care Into Our Third Century

In 1826, when 10 New Haven citizens formally proposed what we now call Yale New Haven Hospital, many of the most important medical discoveries hadn’t yet happened: surgical anesthesia, blood typing and X-rays, to name just a few. People didn’t yet know that germs caused diseases, and it would be another century before antibiotics were invented.

Yet the people who founded Connecticut’s first non-profit hospital were as forward-thinking as those who have pioneered the medical breakthroughs that are so much a part of Yale New Haven Hospital’s 200-year history and will continue into its future.

This year we mark YNHH’s bicentennial with the theme “Advancing Care Into Our Third Century.” We’re celebrating the generations of caregivers, physicians, staff and supporters who have built our legacy, and the dedication and expertise of the teams who carry that legacy forward every day.

Please visit our bicentennial website, https://ynhh200.org/, which features a timeline, video, information about upcoming events and opportunities for those who wish to support the hospital philanthropically.

Let's celebrate!

Timeline highlights

1826

Ten prominent New Haven residents meet to discuss establishing a hospital in New Haven called “The General Hospital Society of Connecticut.” The General Hospital Society would be affiliated with the Medical Institution of Yale College.

Drs. Jonathan Knight (left) and Benjamin Silliman prepared the petition to create the hospital and on May 31, 1826, the Connecticut governor signed the bill that allowed for creation of the first non-profit, private hospital in Connecticut and the fourth in the nation (after Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts).

1833

After renting temporary quarters and allotting $15,000 to construct and outfit the building, the three-story granite Greek Revival hospital was designed by eminent New Haven architect and engineer Ithiel Towne, and cost $13,000. The new hospital opened in June 1833.