Baystate Medical Center (Images of America)

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 Western Campus of Tufts University School of Medicine. Many patient-care innovations have emerged, including one of the country's first chronic-care wards, the first kidney transplant, and fast-track cardiac surgery. Today, Baystate Medical Center is the flagship hospital of Baystate Health, whose 10,000 employees carry out the mission to improve the health of the people in our communities every day, with quality and compassion.

Thomas L. Higgins, MD, is a critical-care physician, educator, and researcher. In 18 years at Baystate, he has served in many roles, most recently as vice chair for clinical affairs in the Department of Medicine. Linda S. Baillargeon is manager for the Internal Medicine Residency Programs and began her career at Wesson Memorial Hospital in 1977. Images have been gathered from hospital archives housed at the Wood Museum of Springfield History.