Baystate Medical Center was established in 1976 with the merger of the Medical Center of Western Massachusetts and Wesson Memorial Hospital. Baystate's roots extend to 1870, when Springfield City Hospital was one of just 178 acute-care hospitals in the United States. It was renamed Springfield Hospital in 1883 and moved to its current location at 759 Chestnut Street in 1889. The Hampden Homeopathic Hospital was founded in 1900, followed by the Wesson Maternity Hospital eight years later. All three hospitals have a long tradition of training physicians and nurses, and today, Baystate is the...

In 1895, Franklin County Public Hospital (FCPH) was founded by 36 citizens led by Dr. Adams Calhoun Deane. The newly incorporated hospital rented the former home of Rev. Dr. Francis Robbins and served 55 patients in its first year of operation. By 1898, FCPH moved to the larger Converse House and then to purpose-built facilities at 164 High Street in 1910. The hospital trained nurses, including Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail, class of 1927, the first Native American graduate in the United States. In 1968, FCPH opened the architecturally unique Spokes wards. Throughout its history, the Board of...