Key Facts & Timeline
Mission
Emerson Hospital will deliver high-quality care to our community that is:
- Safe
- Compassionate
- Accessible
- Appropriate
- Efficient
- Coordinated
Values
At Emerson Hospital, we:
- Put patients’ needs first
- Strive to provide the highest quality experience with compassionate, expert care
- Maintain a professional, respectful environment for patients, staff and community
- Embody integrity, pride and adherence to the highest moral, legal and ethical standards
- Are accountable for all of the above
Type of hospital
Emerson is a full-service, non-profit community hospital. With over 300 active primary care doctors and specialists on staff, Emerson is well known for its outstanding medical and surgical specialists, as well as excellent nursing care and patient-centered services.
Year founded
Emerson was founded in 1911 as the Deaconess Hospital. In 1924, the hospital was renamed after Charles Emerson (a nephew of Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Number of beds
Today Emerson is a 179-bed acute care medical center which provides advanced medical services to over 300,000 individuals in 25 towns.
Service Area
Emerson Hospital’s service area includes the Massachusetts towns of Acton, Ayer, Bedford, Berlin, Bolton, Boxborough, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Groton, Harvard, Hudson, Lancaster, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lunenburg, Maynard, Pepperell, Shirley, Stow, Sudbury, Townsend, Wayland and Westford.
Number of employees
1,600 employees
Number of volunteers
With more than 525 adult and student volunteers representing 38 towns, Emerson has more volunteers per bed than any other hospital in Massachusetts. In 2012, volunteers gave 65,745 hours of service.
Number of physicians
Active Staff: 309
Courtesy Staff: 119
Satellites
Key Statistics
- More than 37,500 emergency department visits per year
- More than 14,000 day surgeries per year
- More than 68,000 rehab treatments per year
- Nearly 45,000 home care visits
- More than 300,000 individuals served
Timeline
1911
Charles Emerson donates 80 acres of land along the Sudbury River and $20,000 to create a 14-bed cottage hospital
1924
Hospital property deeded to the community
1925
First X-ray machine purchased
1928
First laboratory opens
1934
State pays hospital $6,500 for land and farm buildings to create Route 2
1949
Construction of East Wing, which includes an obstetrical unit and two operating rooms
1951
First medical records librarian hired
1957
Cardiopulmonary Laboratory opens—completes 422 electrocardiograms the first year
1958
Physical Therapy Department established
1959
Dial telephone installed
1960
Home Health Care Department opens
1962
Intensive Care Unit opens
1964
Cardiac Care Unit opens
1969
Wheeler Wings open
1969
John Cuming Building dedicated
1970
Community Agencies Building opens
1971
Ground broken for Project 10, a $5.5 million construction and renovation project
1972
Cancer Care Program founded
1974
New Intensive Care Unit opens
1980
Birthing Center opens
1981
Cardiac Rehabilitation Program begins
1982
Advanced Life Support Program inaugurated
1997
Bethke Cancer Center established
1998
Multidisciplinary health center opens in Westford
2000
Critical Care Unit opens
Groton Health Center begins seeing patients
2004
Breast Health Center opens across from hospital at 747 Main Street
Center for Sports Rehabilitation and Specialty Services opens across from hospital at the Concord Health Center, 57 ORNAC
2005
Polo Emergency Center expansion completed as Olsen Urgent Care Center opens
Surgical Weight Loss program launched
Christine Schuster named President and CEO
2006
Emerson Medical at Sudbury on Route 20 begins seeing patients
Groundbreaking for Project SCORE (Surgery Center, Obstetrics and Radiology Expansion), a $36 million expansion/renovation project
2007
Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine opens
Agarwal Diabetes Center opens
Center for Specialty Care opens on Baker Avenue, a mile from hospital
2008
Project SCORE nears completion with the opening of the Birthing Center and expanded interventional radiology suite
Cancer clinical trials begin in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute
Bone and Joint Center opens
Annual appeal reaches $1 million for the first time
2009
Project SCORE completed with opening of new operating rooms
Naka Infusion Center opens
2010
Emerson Medical at Bedford begins seeing patients and opens the North Road Art Gallery
2011
Emerson celebrates Centennial
Dedicated the Cheney Conference Room in honor of the late Board chair, Phillip W. Cheney
Dedicated the Mortimer B. Hermel Breast Health Center
2012
Affiliation with Mass General Cancer Center at Emerson Hospital- Bethke
Launched the Emerson - Mass General Weight Loss Program