Boston Children's Hospital

Overview

One of the largest pediatric medical centers in the United States, Children's offers a complete range of health care services for children from birth through 21 years of age. Its Advanced Fetal Care Center can begin interventions at 15 weeks gestation, and, in some situations (e.g., congenital heart disease and strabismus), Children's also treats adult patients. The institution is home to 40 clinical departments and 258 specialized clinical programs.

From 1 October 2017, through 30 September 2018 (fiscal year 2018), the hospital recorded:

622,000 outpatient visits

60,000 emergency department visits

28,000 inpatient and day surgical cases

5.4-day average length of stay

a 2.13 average case-mix

The hospital's clinical staff includes approximately 2,000 active medical and dental staff, 475 residents, fellows, and interns, and over 2,700 nurses. In addition to clinical personnel, Boston Children's has the largest pediatric research enterprise with 3,000 researchers and scientific staff and more NIH funding than any other children's hospital. A trained team of more than 460 volunteers devote thousands of hours each year to support the hospital staff and patients. As of 2025, the hospital reported more than 750 affiliated physicians across Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York, 8 satellite and physician offices, 7 community hospitals and 1 community health center. Kevin B. Churchwell serves as the hospital's current CEO.

As of January 2024, the Boston Children's Hospital's Global Services team serves over 2,500 patients from more than 160 countries. Services provided including coordination of visits, medical records, travel, accommodation, and immigration. The hospital offers a global medical second opinion program in partnership with Grand Rounds, Inc. There are more than 3000 Harvard faculty affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital.

History

Children's was founded on 20 July 1869, by Francis Henry Brown, a Civil War surgeon, who traveled to Europe in 1867 to study the pioneering specialized approach to treating children. Brown was impressed with the treatments he witnessed and he wanted to bring that level of care to Boston. Brown opened a 20-bed facility in a small townhouse at 9 Rutland Street in Boston's South End.

Approximately one year after opening, the hospital was moved to the corner of Rutland and Washington Streets. Children's Hospital stayed at this location until 1871 when the hospital moved to Huntington Avenue before its final move to what would become the Harvard Longwood Medical and Academic Area.

In 1891 Thomas Morgan Rotch, Children's chief physician, established the nation's first laboratory for the modification and production of bacteria-free milk. Before the establishment of this laboratory, breast milk was often the carrier of many deadly diseases that children were especially susceptible to.

1900s

Harvard Medical School affiliated itself with Boston Children's in 1903.

Boston Children's Hospital moved to an area of more than 130,000 square feet on Longwood Avenue in 1914, where the Ebenezer Francis farm was located. The cost of the area was $120,000.

William Ladd, a doctor with Children's, devised procedures for correcting various congenital defects such as intestinal malformations in 1920, launching the specialty of pediatric surgery.

Robert E. Gross, a surgeon at Children's and later a professor of child surgery at Harvard Medical School, performed the world's first successful surgical procedure to correct a congenital heart defect with the "ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus" in 1938, ushering in the era of modern pediatric cardiac surgery.

Sidney Farber, pediatric pathologist, requested Yellapragada Subbarow (a friend and colleague from Harvard Medical School then working at Lederle Laboratories) to supply aminopterin and later amethopterin (methotrexate) to conduct trials on to children with leukemia, a diagnosis that was deemed a "death sentence," in 1948. He achieved the world's first partial remission of acute leukemia. He went on to co-found the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 1950.

John Enders, his assistant Thomas Weller, and colleague Frederick Robbins, successfully cultured the polio virus in 1949, making possible the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines for polio. They won the Nobel Prize for their work in 1954. Enders and his team went on to culture the measles virus.

Judah Folkman published "Tumor angiogenesis: Therapeutic implications" in the 1971 November issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. It was the first paper to describe Folkman's theory that tumors recruit new blood vessels to grow.

The Boston Brace, a new, lower profile brace for patients with scoliosis was developed by Chief of Orthopedics John E. Hall and orthotist Bill Miller at the Boston Children's scoliosis clinic in 1972.

2000–present

In 2002, Scott Pomeroy and Todd Golub use microarray gene expression profiling to identify different types of brain tumors and predict clinical outcome. This allows radiation and chemotherapy to be tailored to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue alone. Also in 2002, Nader Rifai helps to author a paper showing that cholesterol levels and LSD use are less accurate predictors of predisposition to strokes and heart attacks then presence of a C-reactive protein that can be found in blood test results.

Heung Bae Kim and Tom Jaksic develop, test and successfully perform the world's first serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) procedure for patients with short bowel syndrome in 2003. The next year, Children's surgeons perform New England's first multi visceral organ transplant when 11-month-old Abdullah Alazemi receives a stomach, pancreas, liver, and small intestine from a single donor.

In 2005, in the best-documented effort to date, Drs. Felix Engel and Mark Keating get adult heart-muscle cells to divide and multiply in mammals, the first step in regenerating heart tissue. Also in 2005, neurosurgeon Benjamin Warf brought a technique back to Boston Children's for shuntlessly treating hydrocephalus, the condition of excess fluid around the brain.

In 2006, Dale Umetsu, Omid Akbari and colleagues reported that a newly recognized type of immune cell, NKT, may play an important role in causing asthma, even in the absence of conventional T-helper cells. In addition, NKT cells respond to a different class of antigens that are currently recognized to trigger asthma. In that same year, Larry Benowitz and colleagues discovered a naturally occurring growth factor called oncomodulin that stimulates regeneration in injured optic nerves, raising the possibility of treating blindness due to optic-nerve damage and the hope of achieving similar regeneration in the spinal cord and brain.

Norman Spack co-founds Boston Children's Hospital's Gender Management Service (GeMS) clinic in 2007; it is America's first clinic to treat transgender children and the first to prescribe puberty blockers. The clinic provides "counseling and resources in the years before medical intervention is appropriate, along with psychological support and a stepwise approach to medical treatment."

The Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center

The Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, focused on treating children with cancer and blood disorders. It brings together the resources and expertise of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital to offer advanced care and treatments. The center is recognized globally for its research and for developing new therapies to improve outcomes for young patients.

Controversies

Justina Pelletier controversy

In 2013, Boston Children's Hospital became part of a dispute concerning the treatment of minor Justina Pelletier, which ultimately involved the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. In February 2012, Pelletier was taken to the emergency-room at Boston Children's Hospital, a trip prompted by severe stomach pain and difficulty walking, For a variety of symptoms, Pelletier had previously been taken by her parents to see doctors across multiple states, receiving multiple diagnoses. She had most recently been diagnosed with mitochondrial disease while a patient at Tufts Medical Center. The BCH doctors doubted that difficult-to-confirm diagnosis, owing to the lack of abnormal blood markers and the fact that there had been no finding of an accumulation of mitochondria in the cell membranes of skeletal muscles, often called the "hallmark of mitochondrial disorders". (Mark Korson, Pelletier's Tufts doctor, had not performed a muscle biopsy.) Jurriaan Peters, a pediatric neurologist at BCH who evaluated Pelletier, suspected somatoform disorder—a psychological condition creating or worsening physical symptoms. Moreover, Peters suspected that Pelletier was a victim of factitious disorder by proxy—a form of medical abuse in which parents subject their children to excessive medical care. This suspicion was shared by some of Pelletier's prior doctors. In addition to conversations with Pelletier's past doctors, some of whom shared Peters's suspicion, Peters noted that Pelletier "had multiple diagnoses [and] a very patchy network of providers. Those are all classic red flags." However, one of Pelletier's former pediatricians, Thomas Binder, would later state that he never suspected any child abuse.

The Boston Children's Hospital team crafted a treatment plan, with input from some of Pelletier's doctors at Tufts, to "de-medicalize" the case and provide in-hospital psychological care. Although Pelletier's parents were initially receptive, Pelletier's father subsequently attempted to remove Pelletier from the hospital's care, and the team filed a 51A report—used to alert the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families of potential child abuse. Custody of Pelletier was transferred to that agency by order of Judge Joseph Johnston, and the DCF elected to keep her in treatment at Boston Children's Hospital. Pelletier was held in Boston Children's Hospital's psychiatric ward, Bader 5, from 14 February 2013, until January 2014, when she was transferred to Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, a residential treatment center in Framingham. Reports vary of Pelletier's condition during this stay: Pelletier's father said that Pelletier was "declining" in a way visible "to anyone," while the hospital records reflected Pelletier gaining strength, becoming less reliant on a feeding tube, and having regular bowel movements—something her parents had said was not possible without a tube forcing solution into her intestines to make her colon contract.

Harassment campaign against gender-affirming care

In August 2022, right-wing Twitter account Libs of TikTok made approximately 13 tweets about the Boston Children's Hospital and their gender-affirming care, falsely claiming that they were providing "gender-affirming hysterectomies" to minors. One of these tweets contained a reposted video in which a Boston Children's Hospital gynecologist discusses a "gender affirming hysterectomy" procedure. The video was removed after the hospital started receiving large amounts of online criticism, despite the physician not suggesting that the procedure is offered to children. This misinformation was repeated by other prominent conservative social media influencers including David J Harris and Billboard Chris. These tweets resulted in the hospital, its employees, and providers receiving death threats, "hostile internet activity, phone calls, and harassing emails including threats of violence". On 30 August, the hospital received an anonymous bomb threat by phone which forced the hospital into a temporary lockdown, although it is unknown whether the threat was related to the harassment. A second bomb threat was received on 9 September, which police likewise responded to. On 15 September, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that Catherine Leavy of Westfield, Massachusetts had been arrested in connection with the first bomb threat. She was charged with one count of making a false bomb threat through telephone and could face up to five years in prison. After the announcement, Libs of TikTok tweeted: "This is great news. Threats of violence should always be taken seriously."

The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, and Politifact rejected the tweets and claims as false. According to the hospital's website and statements, the hospital adheres to medical guidelines developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and gender-affirming care involving genital surgeries are only offered to patients between the ages of 18 and 35 while surgical consultations can be offered beginning at the age of 17. The hospital said in another statement that "We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms, and we reject the false narrative upon which they are based". When contacted by The Washington Post, Raichik did not answer a question about whether she felt responsible for the threats made against the hospitals she tweeted about, including Boston Children's Hospital, but said that "we 100% condemn any acts/threats of violence".

According to The Washington Post, an archived version of the hospital's website appeared to state that vaginoplasties, the surgical construction or reconstruction of a vagina, were available to 17-year-olds at the hospital. The hospital has since updated its website to reflect its policy of gender-affirming surgeries only being offered to patients between the ages of 18 and 35. The hospital also clarified that patients can only receive surgical consultations at 17.

Adult programs

In addition to their pediatric specialties, Boston Children's Hospital serves adults through a couple of their nationally recognized programs. BCH completes adult research in addition to their pediatric research.

BCH has one of the largest adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) programs in the U.S., providing congenital cardiac care to every age.

Boston Children's Hospital also houses an adult strabismus service that offers comprehensive evaluation and treatment for adults.

BCH also houses an adult cystic fibrosis program in collaboration with nearby Brigham & Women's Hospital.

BCH houses the maternal fetal care center in collaboration with Brigham & Women's Hospital, providing care for mothers carrying babies with congenital anomalies.

Research

The Boston Children's Hospital's research facility consists of more than 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of laboratory space including 58,000 square-feet of clinical research space, making it the largest pediatric medical center in the world. As of 2018, the hospital's research staff included over 3,000 researchers and scientific staff. Boston Children's researchers have been honored as members of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Laboratory facilities

John F. Enders Pediatric Research Laboratories

Named in honor of John Franklin Enders, the Boston Children's Hospital researcher and Nobel laureate who cultured poliovirus and the measles virus.

Karp Family Research Laboratories

This 295,000-square-foot (27,400 m2) building opened in 2003 and increased the hospital's research space by over 60%.

Center for Life Science

Boston Children's Hospital researchers currently occupy more than 4 floors of this 700,000 square-foot, privately managed research facility.

Alexandria Center for Life Science – Fenway

Boston Children's Hospital has purchased a significant portion of a life science lab building under construction in Fenway, a Class A lab building within the larger Alexandria Center for Life Science-Fenway mega campus. The hospital will acquire 268,000 square feet for approximately $155 million. The building is expected to be completed in 2026. The space will serve as an "incubator of innovation," fostering collaboration among scientists. Alexandria will develop and manage the entire building, as well as the larger 2 million square foot life science campus. The project includes open spaces, connections to public transportation (MBTA Fenway station), bike paths, pedestrian walkways, Time Out Market food court, and retail on the ground floor. The Precision Vaccines Program of Boston Children's Hospital is located on the 13th floor of the 201 Brookline Ave in the Alexandria Center for Life Science-Fenway mega campus.

Informatics program

The Computational Health Informatics Program (CHIP) at Boston Children's Hospital was founded in 1994. The program's research includes several free and open-source software projects.

Stem cell program

Children's Stem Cell Program investigator George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D., has made dozens of iPS lines developed at Boston Children's Hospital available for use by other scientists through the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, an institution affiliated with Boston Children's Hospital.

In 2010, a drug that boosts numbers of blood stem cells, originally discovered in zebrafish in the Boston Children's Hospital laboratory of Leonard I. Zon, M.D., went to clinical trial in patients with leukemia and lymphoma.

Center on Media and Child Health

The Digital Wellness Lab, founded by Dr. Michael Rich, was launched in March 2021. It evolved from the Center on Media and Child Health (CMCH), which was a non-profit organization based at Boston Children's Hospital. CMCH was founded in 2002, by pediatrician Michael Rich, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and Associate Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

CMCH conducted scientific research to improve the understanding of media influence and provided evidence-based expertise to initiatives and programs that address children's involvement with media.

CMCH researchers investigated correlations between media use and children's physical and mental health outcomes, measuring media exposure in youth. Combining techniques of momentary sampling and video capture, this method is more sensitive to the variety of media used, more responsive to media multitasking, and more accurate in its capture of both media content and usage time.

Precision Vaccines Program

The Precision Vaccines Program (PVP) is a multi-disciplinary academic program employing cutting edge technologies such as systems biology, human in vitro modelling and adjuvant science to advance discovery and development of vaccines tailored for vulnerable populations. Led by Ofer Levy, the Precision Vaccines Program focuses on improving vaccine safety and effectiveness of vaccines including those against infectious diseases and fentanyl overdose.

Awards

Nobel Prizes

Children's Hospital scientist John Enders and his team were first to successfully culture the polio virus and were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1954.

Joseph Murray, chief plastic surgeon at Children's Hospital Boston from 1972 to 1985 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 for his research on immunosuppression, specifically his "discoveries concerning organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease".

Lasker Awards

William Lennox received the Lasker Award in 1951 for his work researching epilepsy. Lennox organized the American Epilepsy League and the Committee for Public Understanding of Epilepsy.

Robert Gross received the Lasker Award in 1954 for performing the first operation for patent ductus arteriosus, a congenital heart defect, in 1938. He received an additional Lasker in 1959 for being the first surgeon to graft artery tissue from one person to another in 1958.

John Enders was awarded the Lasker in 1954; the same year he was awarded the Nobel Prize for "achievement in the cultivation of the viruses poliomyelitis, mumps, and measles".

Sidney Farber received the Lasker in 1966 for his 1947 discovery that a combination of aminopterin and methotrexate, both folic acid antagonists, could produce remission in patients with acute leukemia, and for "his constant leadership in the search for chemical agents against cancer".

Porter W. Anderson, Jr. received the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award with David H. Smith in 1996 for groundbreaking work in the development and commercialization of the Hemophilus influenza type B vaccine.

U.S. News & World Report

In 2016, it was ranked as the best children's hospital in America by U.S. News & World Report and was ranked #1 in cancer, #1 in cardiology, #2 in endocrinology, #1 in gastroenterology and GI surgery, #1 in neonatology, #1 in nephrology, #1 in neurology and neurosurgery, #1 in orthopedics, #2 in pulmonology, and #1 in urology.

In 2021 the hospital was ranked #1 best children's hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report on the publications' honor roll list.

As of 2021 Boston Children's has placed nationally in all 10 ranked pediatric specialties on U.S. News & World Report.