HISTORY
Academics of CHA: A Brief History
City Council Act 1911: “to authorize the City of Cambridge to incur indebtedness for the erection of a City Hospital…to serve the medically indigent in the community.”
1918: Cambridge City Hospital is built.
April 16, 1961: NBC “White Paper #5: Anatomy of a Hospital.” Presaging Medicare and Medicaid, this nationally televised white paper describes Cambridge City Hospital as chronically underfunded, understaffed and under-equipped.
1966: Harvard affiliation. At the dedication of the Cambridge Hospital’s new building, in 1968, Mayor Walter Sullivan proclaimed, “This is a symbol of unanimity of Cambridge, for here is a building that will house the sick, treat the injured…without regard to color, economic status or political persuasion.”
1996: CHA chartered as a public authority, enabling expansion of clinical services and academics beyond the municipal boundaries of Cambridge. Somerville Hospital and its affiliated health centers are purchased, followed by the acquisition of Whidden Hospital (Everett) in 2001. New health centers are subsequently constructed in Somerville, Everett, Malden and Revere.
2001 to present:
Affiliation agreements renewed with Harvard Medical School, Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Harvard School of Public Health.
Tufts Family Medicine Residency Program acquired.
Institute for Community Health inaugurated.
Academic Council established.
Cambridge Integrated Clerkship founded.
New academic centers inaugurated: the Institute for Community Health, the Center for Health Equity Research, the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion and the Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy
Historical views of CHA
Historical Views of CHA covers our visual history in images from the inception of Cambridge Hospital in 1911 and becoming affiliated with Harvard University in 1960 to the creation of an alliance with Somerville Hospital and Everett Hospital and our expansion with the establishment of new health centers in the communities of North Cambridge, Malden, Revere and Somerville in the 21st century.
