1870
Salem resident and wealthy ship owner, Captain John Bertram falls ill. Recovering in his comfortable home, he feels concern for those who are ill and not as fortunate to have support and resources.

1873
Captain Bertram joins with Salem civic leaders to apply for a charter to create a hospital to care for the poor. The charter is granted and Captain Bertram donates $25,000 and a brick mansion on Charter Street for the project.

1874
Salem Hospital opens on Charter Street with 12 beds, which was increased to 16 by the end of the year. The cost to the hospital for each patient per day is $1.70.

1879
Salem Hospital School of Nursing is established as one of only 11 nursing schools in the country.

Two rooms are added to the top floor of Salem Hospital for maternity patients.

An eye clinic is added to address the prevalence of infections including trachoma and conjunctivitis.

Dr. David Coggin performs first cataract surgery north of Boston.

1892
X-ray apparatus installed for the first time.

1904
North Shore Children's Hospital opens, comprised of two small cottages on Baker's Island in Salem Sound.

1912
First orthopedic specialist - Dr. Harvey Newell - is appointed.

1913
Otolaryngology service established.

1914
The Great Salem Fire burns down the 76-bed hospital on Charter Street. All 75 patients are successfully evacuated to surrounding hospitals and homes.

1915
Louise MacMurray, the hospital's first nurse anesthetist, is hired.

1917
A rebuilt and expanded Salem Hospital opens with approximately 135 beds on 25 acres of the former Ware Estate on Highland Ave.

1918
First neurologist added to the Medical Staff.

Influenza Epidemic of 1918 sweeps through Salem; hospital sees a 40% increase in patient volume.

1925
Massage Clinic added, seeing outpatients three times a week.

1929
Pathology Department inaugurated; Dr. Charles Branch appointed as first pathologist on the Medical Staff.

Dr. Guy Randall appointed first psychiatrist at Salem Hospital.

1936
Cardiologist added to consulting staff and electrocardiogram machine is purchased.

1938
Salem Hospital Aid Association is formed to recruit volunteer workers; 60 women take on active roles in the hospital in the first year.

1939
Department of Anesthesia established.

1941
Births at the hospital hit an all-time annual high of 761 and the average daily census grows from 168 to 185.

Construction of new wing of the hospital is completed and increases the hospitals' capacity from 136 beds and 22 bassinets to 236 beds and 49 bassinets.

1942
With World War II underway, Salem Hospital is among 10 in the state designated as a base hospital unit with doctors affiliated with the US Public Health Service, to be activated to serve the country, if needed.

Salem Hospital's Nursing School enrollment grows to 94 nursing students. A nursing shortage requires the hospital to make changes, including training Salem High School students as volunteer caregivers. Annual tuition at the Salem Hospital Nursing School costs $60 and includes books and lab fees. The three-year program includes 1,019 hours of coursework; 547 hours of the total hours are provided during the first 5 months of the program. Before beginning classwork, nurses are given a physical examination and chest x-ray and are inoculated against typhoid fever. Nurses are housed in Highland Hall -- the nurses' home on the hospital campus -- where afternoon tea is served each day.

1946
Surgical residency program established with Massachusetts General Hospital.

1949
Salem Hospital medical staff appointed four interns to one-year terms as part of their training in surgery and pediatrics. Two of these interns were women - the first female members of our medical staff. Today, nearly half of our 750 active medical staff are women.

1956
Physicians are required to have a parking sticker to park on hospital campus.

1957
Phippen building, named after Dr. Walter Phippen, a long-term physician leader at Salem Hospital, is dedicated

1965
Salem Hospital adds coronary care unit.

1966
Neurosurgery added as a specialty at the Salem Hospital.

1967
Emergency Services extended to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

1971
Obstetrics/Gynecology becomes independent department.

The Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) opens on Chestnut Street to provide primary and behavioral health care services to Lynn residents, regardless of their insurance coverage or ability to pay for care. Only a few years later, in 1976, North Shore Community Health (NSCH) is founded to provide comprehensive primary care services to residents, first in Peabody and eventually expanding to Salem and Gloucester. These vital organizations have grown and diversified significantly since those early days and remain a critical component of our region’s health care services network.

Salem Hospital and Mass General Brigham are proud to partner with both LCHC and NSCH to provide high quality, accessible, multicultural care to our diverse and vibrant communities.

1973
Named after the Davenport Family, the Davenport Building, opens, increasing the number of beds from 270 to 420. Cost of the building is $11 million.

1975
Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital opens on the Salem Hospital Campus.

Seagull sculpture that is currently located outside of Axelrod 6 is donated by Salem Hospital Aid Association.

1978
Nursing students opt for nursing programs at larger colleges and universities, causing enrollment in the Salem Hospital nursing school to drop. Salem Hospital's nursing school, the fifth oldest nursing school in the country, closes.

1979
Fathers are permitted in the delivery room for the first time.

1984
Salem Hospital begins managing the Mary Alley Municipal Hospital in Marblehead.

1986
Salem Hospital begins managing Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital. Town of Marblehead closes Mary Alley Hospital. Salem Hospital opens Marblehead Medical Walk-In Center at same time alongside the former hospital on Widger Road.

1987
Home Care Group of the North Shore (later known as VNA of Greater Salem) affiliates with Salem Hospital.

1989
Salem Hospital adds radiation oncology to Cancer Center in Peabody.

1990
Salem Hospital assumes license for Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital.

Total beds reach 520.

1993
North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) is incorporated and includes Salem Hospital, Union Hospital and Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital, as well as a group of affiliated physician practices.

The $6.1 million updated outpatient SurgiCenter opens at Salem Hospital.

1995
NSMC signs memorandum of understanding to affiliate with Partners HealthCare System, Inc., founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

1996
Salem Hospital/North Shore Medical Center join Partners HealthCare, known today as Mass General Brigham, enabling NSMC and Salem Hospital to collaborate with Boston-based specialists and enhance care on the North Shore.

1997
NSMC opens NSMC Women's Center in Danvers. AtlantiCare Medical Center (owner of Union Hospital) and North Shore Medical Center complete corporate affiliation.

1999
The North Shore Cancer Walk raises a record-breaking $1 million to support cancer treatment on the North Shore.

2002
New adult and pediatric Emergency Department opens at Salem Hospital.

2003
Salem Hospital expands cardiac programs in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital and performs the first percutaneous coronary intervention procedure on the North Shore.

At the time, Salem Hospital is one of only three community hospitals in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the only one north of Boston licensed to perform advanced interventional cardiac procedures.

2006
Salem Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital announce plans for the development of a $104 million Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers.

2007
NSMC announces the $15 million Best Care, Right Place fundraising campaign, the most ambitious fundraising effort in the organization's history. All funds will be used for the construction of the Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers and renovation projects on the Salem Campus.

2008
The group of individually-named, NSMC-owned primary and specialty care practices are renamed as North Shore Physicians Group at all locations, reflecting the growing integration of the practices and their connection to NSMC.

2009
NSMC and Massachusetts General Hospital open the Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers, building on 50 years of clinical collaboration between the two institutions. The new facility includes multispecialty physician practices, eight outpatient operating rooms, radiology and lab services, urgent care and comprehensive outpatient cancer services.

NSMC Cancer Center integrates with the Mass General Cancer Center and moves from Centennial Drive in Peabody to the new Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers.

Salem Hospital completes renovations on Phippen 6 and 7, opening 32 private rooms, and on Davenport 7 and 8, opening 8 private rooms.

2010
The North Shore Cancer WALK celebrates its 20th anniversary with more than 5,000 participants; a new 5K Cancer RUN is introduced.

Salem Hospital opens new, state-of-the-art ICU, moving from Davenport 5 to Davenport 6, expanding from 16 to 20 beds.

2011
A new 15-bed unit designed to accommodate the needs of medically complex cardiology patients is completed on Davenport 5 on the Salem Campus.

2015
As federal regulations change and limit sustainability of long-term care facilities, Spaulding North Shore closes.

2016
Salem Hospital breaks ground on a $207 million project to consolidate its inpatient campuses in Salem, adding 118,000 square feet of space for a new emergency department and private inpatient floor. Renovations also begin on the former Spaulding North Building to create a new inpatient behavioral health center.

2017
Salem Hospital launches Epic, a new electronic medical system that connects all the hospitals within Partners HealthCare.

Longtime friend and supporter of Salem Hospital, Arthur J. Epstein, commits $5 million to the hospital's plan to build a new behavioral health center. At that time, the gift is the single largest donation in hospital’s history.

2019
The surgical team at Salem Hospital completes the first case using the hospital's new surgical robot.

Work begins on a construction project to transform the entrance to Salem Hospital and dramatically improve the experience for patients and visitors.

Salem's campus consolidation project is completed; new facilities are opened including the 120-bed Epstein Center for Behavioral Health, 24 private patient rooms on Pingree 4, and Salem Hospital's new 64,000-square-foot Emergency Department.

NSMC's two inpatient hospitals are consolidated on the expanded campus in Salem.

Partners Healthcare announces new name as Mass General Brigham; as part of this transition, North Shore Medical Center adopts Salem Hospital name.

2020
COVID-19 pandemic begins. During the first wave of the outbreak, Salem Hospital has more COVID inpatients than any other community hospital in the Commonwealth.

Salem Hospital administers the first COVID-19 vaccine to staff. Over the next several months, vaccination clinics are held to ensure that all staff and physicians are vaccinated against the virus, and community members are inoculated.

Salem Hospital opens the Mass General Brigham Healthcare Center in Lynn on the site of the former Union Hospital campus, providing primary and specialty outpatient care, urgent care, lab and radiology services and behavioral health care.

2023
Salem Hospital opens its expanded entrance and lobby named after former Salem Hospital president, David Roberts, MD. The spacious new lobby, made possible through a generous donation from Arthur Epstein and his family, features a gift shop, greeter desk and a cafe.

2024
Pingree 5, a new unit of 24 private inpatient rooms opens at Salem Hospital.

Salem Hospital celebrates its 150th anniversary.