History & Milestones

Formation of Greenwich Hospital
The Greenwich Hospital Association dates from a meeting in March 2, 1903 to discuss building a hospital in the heart of the borough. Presiding was A. Foster Higgins, a founder of the Greenwich Gas & Electric Lighting Company, and four other prominent citizens: Edward Brush, William Hall, Herbert B. Stevens and George Lauder.

Formation of Greenwich Hospital
Within days, the Connecticut General Assembly granted the GHA a charter of incorporation. The legislature also granted $25,000 payable once the hospital had raised $75,000 privately. In the spring of 1905, the GHA paid $52,250 for the “Octagon House” on Milbank Ave., which eventually became the new hospital.

Formation of Greenwich Hospital
Drs. Fritz and Harriet Baker Hyde were the driving force behind the founding of Greenwich Hospital. Graduates of the Medical Department of the University of Michigan in 1900, both settled in Greenwich, where Harriet's mother lived. They married in 1901 and established private practices in town. The Hydes' skills and determination set the hospital on a path of excellence that guides the hospital to this day.

Greenwich Hospital Begins Service
The new 24-bed hospital on Milbank Avenue opened its doors on Sept. 12, 1906. Formally named Greenwich Hospital, it became known as the Milbank Avenue Hospital. In addition to the Hydes, Drs. Charles Smith and John B. Solley comprised the attending medical staff. The hospital's professional team also included: a head nurse, a matron, ten consulting doctors, a graduate assistant and seven volunteer student nurses.

Greenwich Hospital Begins Service
The first year saw the treatment of 170 patients, most occupying multi-bed wards. Included in that first-year total were 47 private-room and ten maternity patients. These modest beginnings gave little indication of the shape and size of things to come.

Nursing School
Dr. Harriet Hyde proposed a solution for hiring a reliable corps of nurses. She suggested creating a nursing school, an idea the board readily endorsed. By July 1907, the school would offer a first-rate education while providing the region and the hospital with a constant supply of well-trained nurses. The first graduating class of two students received diplomas on May 1, 1909.

Nursing School
Over the years, the School of Nursing provided the hospital and the community with reliable and compassionate care. Although the nursing school closed in 1975, Greenwich Hospital remains committed to furthering the education of nurses.

Nursing School
Greenwich Hospital offers staff opportunities for advanced training, mentoring programs and tuition reimbursement. Many nurses pursue advanced graduate degrees and certification in their specialty, such as oncology, critical care or surgery. The hospital also supports expanded nursing education opportunities for interested students in the local area.

Benedict Building
Greenwich's steadily growing population topped 16,000 in 1910. In August 1914, Commodore Elias C. Benedict purchased land on Perryridge Road and announced that he would donate $250,000 to construct a new hospital. His proposed 90-bed facility would include 23 private rooms, 3 semi-private wards, a 10-bed maternity ward, a nursery, two fully equipped operating rooms, a dispensary, library, laboratory, and X-ray room.

Benedict Building
Construction delays caused by the advent of World War I postponed the opening of the new hospital until October 1917. In 1918, however, it was ready to offer critically-needed service during a nationwide flu epidemic, demonstrating its value to Greenwich in its very first year of operation.

Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary (The Volunteer Story)
A corps of volunteers has consistently worked at Greenwich Hospital since it opened in 1906. The history of the hospital is inseparable from that of its original Women's Committee (1907-1910) and its successors, the Women's Board (1911-1949) and the Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary, which started in 1950.

Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary (The Volunteer Story)
Dr. Harriet Hyde led the legendary “Nine Determined Women,” the core of the original Women's Committee and subsequent Women's Board. These volunteers dedicated themselves to the efficient upkeep of the hospital and later raised money for the general maintenance fund. The Board started a thrift shop in 1921, which made a profit in its first year of operation.

Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary (The Volunteer Story)
Volunteer activities changed dramatically over a period of 30 years. By the late 1940s it was apparent that recruitment of volunteers should be opened to the entire community. In January 1950 the Women's Board was folded into the new Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary, which offered membership to all.

Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary (The Volunteer Story)
Today, the Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary continues supporting the hospital through the work of its volunteers and financial contributions.

5 Perryridge Road Building
During the 1920s, the nurses' quarters moved to a new campus location to release needed space for patients. More operating rooms were added in 1930 and an outpatient center in 1934. Expansion continued in 1932 and again in 1940 to meet patient demand. By 1940, with 3,127 admissions, the hospital finally outgrew its building.

5 Perryridge Road Building
A generous gift of $500,000 from Mrs. Henry Walker Bagley initiated a new campaign for a much larger hospital. The next year, 1941, the community matched Mrs. Bagley's contribution and preparations were made to construct a new building. World War II, however, put an end to those plans.

5 Perryridge Road Building
By the end of the war, astonishing advances in medicine made an even larger and more complex hospital necessary. Despite spiraling inflation that boosted the new building's cost to $4.75 million, a loyal community saw it through to completion. They broke ground in 1949 and the hospital was dedicated on May 5, 1951.

5 Perryridge Road Building
In 1963, the pressure for more patient rooms and expanded facilities spurred construction of the South Wing, quietly financed by a few supporters of the hospital. Dedicated in November 1965, it added 80 patient rooms to the existing 245 and larger space for radiology, physical medicine and social services.

"Operation Update" Fund Drive
Medicine had advanced at a remarkable pace by 1978. A successful $10.5 million community fund drive enabled the hospital to build a Northwest Wing and meet new standards of state and national accrediting agencies. It was the third time since 1906 that the community had generously responded to the hospital's needs.

Affiliation with Yale New Haven Health System
To stay competitive in a changing healthcare market, Greenwich Hospital joined the Yale New Haven Health System in 1998. Greenwich is now a regional teaching hospital, affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine and representing all medical specialties.

New Hospital Opens
In 1992, with new services and changing community needs, Greenwich Hospital launched a $60 million capital campaign for a new building. The Leona and Harry B. Helmsley Medical Building opened in October 1999, and the Thomas and Olive C. Watson Pavilion in October 2006. Greenwich Hospital entered a new era of caring and service, and continues to serve the lower Fairfield and Westchester County region.