South Shore Hospital is a 396-bed hospital located in Weymouth, Massachusetts.[2] It is the only community hospital within the state that operates a Level III neonatal intensive care unit.[2] It is also one of three hospitals in Massachusetts with a Level II designation, and the only Level II trauma center that is located south of Boston.[3]
The hospital opened in 1922 and was originally named Weymouth Hospital.[1] It was located in a pre-Civil War mansion, in what was once the home of H.B. Reed, a prominent shoe manufacturer.[4] It contained 22 beds, a delivery room, a nursery, an operating room, and an x-ray machine.[4] Within its first six months of operation, the hospital grew too large for the space that was provided by the mansion, and subsequently doubled in size.[1] In 1967, the building was replaced entirely [4] South Shore Hospital was the first private organization in the country that received funding from the Public Works Administration.[5] It was also one of the first community hospitals that offered day surgery and twenty-four hour emergency room staffing.[5] It was the first hospital in New England that integrated and group hospitalization and insurance.[5]
The hospital employs 1,063 medical staff members.[2] Its maternity center oversees the delivery of approximately 3,083 infants every year.[2] The surgical team performs 20,020 surgeries per year.[2] In 2018, the hospital reported a total of 29,659 patient discharges.[2]
South Shore Hospital has received a federal safety rating of four out of five stars from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.[2]
In 2018, its cardiac catheterization lab was awarded a gold star from the American Heart Association for adherence to strict performance standards and providing quality treatment to its patients.[2][6]
The Leapfrog Group has recognized South Shore Hospital as a Top General Hospital.[3] In 2019, the hospital was designated with an "A" safety grade.[7]