NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Celebrates 289th Birthday by Distributing Onesies and Other Gifts to Newborn Babies Born at Bellevue Hospital
Bellevue Hospital was founded in 1736, just four years after the birth of George Washington and 40 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence
Bellevue Hospital was home to the first hospital maternity ward in the United States (1799), the first cesarean section performed in a U.S. hospital (1867), and the nation’s first children’s clinic (1874)
Mar 31, 2025
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in the United States, is celebrating its 289th birthday by distributing onesies and other gifts to newborn babies born at the hospital. The Bellevue-branded gift bag includes a matching onesie and cap, a water bottle, and other supplies for mom and baby. Last year, almost 1,700 babies were born at Bellevue.
Getting a start in life at the country’s oldest, and perhaps most well-known, hospital is starting off life the best way possible. Bellevue’s Labor and Delivery service has the latest state-of-the-art equipment and a staff of premier experts in the field of obstetrics, gynecology, neonatology, and pediatrics. Recognized as one of the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals for High Performance in Maternity Care, Bellevue has also been designated as Birthing-Friendly hospital for demonstrating s commitment to improving maternal outcomes through quality improvement collaboratives to reduce maternal morbidity and complications, and Baby Friendly for promoting the highest level of care and support breastfeeding mothers and their babies. Bellevue is also a Silver Safe Sleep Champion for work to prevent sleep-related deaths through parent education, staff training and community outreach.
“Bellevue takes enormous pride in our long history as America’s oldest public hospital,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Chief Executive Officer Eric Wei, MD, MBA. “We take equal pride in our hospital’s history of medical innovation and our commitment to deliver health care to every patient with dignity, cultural sensitivity and compassion. For almost 300 years, Bellevue has remained steadfast in our mission to provide the highest quality of care to all New Yorkers, without exception. We rejoice at every birth and are especially happy to celebrate our birthday with these beautiful new babies and their families.”
Bellevue has the only Level 2 Pediatric Trauma Center in Manhattan south of 68th Street, with a dedicated pediatric emergency room and pediatric intensive care unit, delivering care to critically-ill children and adolescents with acute life-threatening conditions and injuries. The hospital is a Designated Regional Perinatal Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, providing the highest level of medical services for patients requiring complex care. A leader in child and adolescent behavioral health, Bellevue’s Child Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program is one of the few child psychiatric emergency rooms in the country.
Bellevue traces its roots to a six-bed infirmary opened in 1736, on the second floor of the New York City Almshouse, serving the poor of the growing city. The almshouse, located on the plot of land that is now known as City Hall Park years before the current City Hall was built, also served as a public workhouse and house of corrections. The infirmary, a room measuring only 25 feet by 23 feet, provided care to those with all forms of infectious disease such as cholera, yellow fever and plague. The infirmary eventually moved to a parcel of land known as “Belle Vue” on the East River where it remains today, and was formally named Bellevue Hospital in 1824.
In 1799, Bellevue was home to the first hospital maternity ward in the United States. Other important milestones in Bellevue’s history as a provider of care for mothers and babies include the first cesarean section performed in a U.S. hospital (1867), and the nation’s first children’s clinic (1874).
For more information about Bellevue Hospital’s Labor and Delivery, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/bellevue/services/labor-and-delivery/
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MEDIA CONTACT: Bellevue Public Relations, 212-562-4516
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is America’s oldest public hospital, established in 1736. Affiliated with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the 851-bed hospital is a major referral center for highly complex cases, with 6,000 employees including highly skilled, interdisciplinary clinical staff. The hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and annually it sees about 103,000 emergency room visits, and more than 520,000 outpatient visits. Clinical centers of excellence include: Emergency Medicine and Trauma Care; Cardiovascular Services; Bariatric Surgery; Designated Regional Perinatal Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Children’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program; and Cancer Services. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/bellevue and follow us on Facebook and X (Twitter).
