Harlem Hospital Center

NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
NYC Health + Hospitals
The hospital's Lenox Avenue facade
Geography
Location	506 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY, United States
Organization
Funding	Public hospital
Hospital type	Teaching
Affiliated university	Columbia Medical Center and College of Physicians and Surgeons
Network	NYC Health + Hospitals
Services
Emergency department	Level I trauma center
Beds	272
History
Founded	1887
Links
Website	nychhc.org/harlem
Lists	Hospitals in the United States
Other links	Hospitals in New York

NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, formerly Harlem Hospital Center, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located in New York City at 506 Lenox Avenue in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem and was founded in 1887.

The hospital was established to provide healthcare to the citizens of the neighborhood, which was a predominately poverty-stricken area. Initially, the hospital served as a holding area for patients to be transferred to Ward's Island, Randall's Island and Bellevue Hospital, New York City. With the wave of the African Americans that moved to New York after the World War, the hospital soon outgrew its initial building. After acquiring land, a new building opened on April 13, 1907. The hospital developed a teaching program that is affiliated with Columbia University, and has continued to serve the Harlem neighborhood since its inception.

Administratively, Harlem Hospital Center is a member of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. It is designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center and an Area Wide Burn Center that includes a specialty in plastic and reconstructive surgery to reduce the scarring unique to the African-American community. It is also designated as a Heart Care Station by the American Heart Association and participates in the 911 Receiving Hospitals Advisory Committee. It has been affiliated with the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University since 1962.

The Harlem Hospital Center has engaged in many innovative programs specialized for its inner-city location, such as one of the few specialized asthma centers. While four percent of the national population suffers from asthma, that figure approaches 20 percent in Harlem. It has a referral Center for Tuberculosis, Charles P. Felton National Tuberculosis Center, that served as a premier Model for TB control nationwide.