Our History

75+ Years of Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Baystate Medical Center, originally known as Springfield City Hospital, has a long and illustrious history dating back to the 1870s. Established in 1869, Springfield City Hospital predates prestigious institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Mayo Clinic, and St. Mary’s Hospital. After becoming a center for graduate medical student teaching, nurse education, research studies, and specialty care, the hospital rebranded as Springfield Hospital Medical Center. In 1974, it merged with Wesson Women’s Hospital to become the 672-bed Medical Center of Western Massachusetts, and in 1976, it further merged with Wesson Memorial to form Baystate Medical Center.

Baystate Medical Center is now the largest flagship hospital of Baystate Health, an integrated health system and one of the largest in New England. As the primary provider of care for the underserved in western Massachusetts, Baystate Health has been delivering high-quality and compassionate healthcare in the Pioneer Valley for more than 140 years. Throughout the years, Baystate Medical Center has experienced continuous growth in both its physical site and services. However, one constant remains: the heart and soul of Baystate Medical Center are the people—patients, loved ones, and employees—who provide care for one another with the utmost dedication, fulfilling the mission of this institution. The walls hold the memories and uncompromising feats of clinical excellence that form the culture of Baystate Medical Center today.

For the past 75 years, the Internal Medicine Residency Program has been a cornerstone of excellence in medical education and patient care. Established in 1948, the program has grown and evolved, adapting to advancements in medical science and changes in healthcare delivery. Over the decades, we have trained thousands of physicians who have gone on to make significant contributions to the field of Internal Medicine and healthcare at large. Our commitment to high standards in education, professional development, and patient care remains unwavering, as we continue to shape the future of medicine with the same dedication and integrity that has defined our program for three-quarters of a century.

Higgins, Thomas L, and Linda S Baillargeon. Baystate Medical Center. Arcadia Publishing, 8 Dec. 2014.

Snyder, Pam. “The History of Baystate Medical Center.” Blog.choosebaystatehealth.org, 2019.

Reflections on the Early Days

Dr. Martin I. Broder, M.D. Chair, Department of Medicine (1982–2002) Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency (1980–1986)

“When I arrived at Baystate Medical Center in January, 1982 as department chair I also became the medical residency program director. My goal for all educational activities and programs in the department was to establish a culture of collegiality and collaboration. Encouraging both learners and faculty in every educational program, (students, residents, fellows) to consider themselves as equal colleagues in learning would facilitate this. This fundamental principle slowly but surely increased the quality of educational experiences for everyone. Our medical residency program was fully accredited but was not using all of its allocated numbers of residents. Senior medical students thinking about our program wanted to be assured that the department leadership was stable and also wanted to meet the incoming program director as part of the interview process. We had both one-year (Medicine-Preliminary) and three-year (Medicine-Categorical) positions. All positions were filled in the 1982 Match.

At that time much of the in-patient teaching was done by physicians in private practice, since there was only a small number of full-time faculty, and the two chief residents ran Morning Report. I took over the responsibility of presiding at Morning Report, at which residents discussed several new patients who had been admitted the previous day. During the next few years many new full-time physicians were added to the department, making possible additional resident-faculty contact. We continued the Medicine-Preliminary and Medicine-Categorical programs but were still not using all the positions in the Categorical program. In 1983, as ambulatory care became increasingly emphasized in resident education, I began discussing with Dr. Edward Reiter, the chair of Pediatrics, the possibility of using the available medical residency positions to establish a combined medicine-pediatrics residency. At that time there were only a few combined programs nationally, but he and I were convinced that we had both the outpatient resources, and the spirit of interdepartmental collaboration needed for educational excellence. The first group of medicine-pediatrics residents arrived in July 1984 and the new program flourished.

We continued to recruit additional faculty in the 1980s, always selecting physicians with a commitment to teaching. Later in the 1980s the residency program required a more robust administrative structure and full-time leadership, and a new residency program director was recruited. This further improved the quality of the residency program."