An archival collection is maintained on the history of Vassar Brothers Medical Center, formerly known as Vassar Brothers Hospital. Items of interest include the original Board meeting minutes from 1884-1924, original accounting ledger from 1887-1900, hundreds of photographs, annual reports from 1887 to 2005, and School of Nursing transcriptions (1907-1972) and yearbooks (1934-1972). Send an inquiry to vbmclibrary@gmail.com. Open by appointment.
Archives 1987 Centennial Booklet 1887-2021 VBMC History 1890-1972 VBH School of Nursing History
Do you have any photos you'd like to share?
Interior photos are of particular interest!
Please send image file to vbmclibrary@gmail.com
or bring photo to VBMC library.
We can scan the photo(s).
Recently Added Photo -
1961 Disaster Drill Triage
1887
VBMC Historical Facts
Hospital location on 17 acres of the Henry Livingston Farm
Opening of the Hospital - April 11, 1887
Structures built after the main hospital - Horse barn (1887), perimeter stone wall (1887-1890), superintendent's home [Home II] (1898)
Employees - head nurse, two bedside nurses, cook, gardener, maintenance man, supervisor/surgeon (1887)
Ambulance - one-horse carriage with lamp; to be used for hospital patient transport; purchase price = $550 (1892)
Library - 4,000 volumes purchased from an MD's private collection in Sing-Sing, Westchester Cty; called "The Fisher Library"
Library/Board Room and Nursing Residence building [Home I] (1898)
Hospital building revisions to accommodate x-ray machine, medical records, laundry, kitchen (1915)
Major building addition - Corridors 1-4 for patient care rooms, surgery suite, expanded records-keeping and offices (1924)
Mary Tower Home (1934) & Joseph T. Tower Building (1949) - Student/Nursing Staff residential space and School of Nursing classrooms
Community Circle (1959) - Originally planned as a 7-story building but fire truck ladder height limitations reduced it to 5-stories
South Circle (1969) - Same architectural design as Community Circle; built debt-free
Building Boom (1999-2002) -- West Wing, Main Lobby, 1 Columbia (parking garage and offices), Dyson Center, followed by the Ambulatory Surgery/Medical Office Building and 2nd parking garage
Patient Pavilion -- Riverview building with Emergency Department, Critical Care, Surgery Suites, Cath Lab, private patient rooms (2021)
2024
VBH Medical Staff issued the first nursing certificates to two nurses in 1890. From there was born the School of Nursing which housed and educated over 400 nurses through its 80 years of existence. As the program gradually took shape, it gained the attention of the educational accrediting body of New York State and received its official recognition as a degree-confirming program in 1905. The first formal graduation ceremony took place in Home I in 1910. Initially, students were given a small monthly stipend and uniforms, helped prepare and serve meals, assisted with cleaning, and cared for patients in 12-hour shifts.
As the program evolved from its humble beginnings, students focused exclusively on patient care through a combination of classroom and bedside instruction. They trained at VBH, as well as at the Hudson River Psychiatric Center and at Babies Hospital (Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, NYC). Student nurses resided in Home I (1898) and Home II (1910), Mary Tower Building ("Old Tower" 1934), and Joseph Tower Building ("New Tower" 1949). New Tower housed the School, with classrooms, dorm rooms, recreational space, a kitchen, and an auditorium. Graduation ceremonies were held in the auditorium until the program ended in August 1972 when it transitioned to Dutchess Community College. Total students = 1,448
Chef Roble was interviewed by Katie on 4/15/14 The Katie Show.
He spoke of his grandfather's legacy and showed a photo of his grandfather as a chef in the kitchen of Vassar Brothers Hospital in the 1960s.
Photo at left - image from HRVH
Photo at right - Chef Roble & Katie Couric, with Chef Harris in background image
View clip below from the Katie Couric Show
The Young Doctors movie poster. Scene with actor Dick Clark and actress Phyllis Love was filmed outside in zero-degree weather with the frozen Hudson River in the background.
Knowledge Resources, Vassar Brothers Medical Center | 45 Reade Place, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 | Library: 845.437.3121 | vbmclibrary@health-quest.org | CME Inquiries: 845.483.6013 |
