New York Downtown Hospital — the only hospital in Lower Manhattan — is a full-service community teaching hospital dedicated to addressing the healthcare needs of the residents, workers, and visitors of Lower Manhattan. It is the hospital closest to the Financial District, the seat of City Government, the Federal Courthouse complex, Chinatown, the residential complex of Battery Park City, and some of New York’s most popular tourist attractions.

Downtown Hospital offers a full range of inpatient and outpatient services, community outreach and education, and is a leader in the field of emergency preparedness and disaster response. As the first responder to nearly every local emergency, the hospital played a critical role as the principal responder to the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. The Hospital’s key role in disaster response necessitated the creation of the new Lehman Brothers Emergency Center, expanding the existing facility to twice the size and including the largest decontamination unit in New York City. In addition, the Hospital was recently certified as a Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health, and opened the Vein and Wound Care Centers to apply new technologies to vascular and wound therapy.

Each year, the Hospital provides inpatient treatment for over 12,000 individuals, emergency medical care for 33,000 patients, and 5,600 ambulance 911 dispatches. More than 100,000 patients are treated in Downtown Hospital’s outpatient and health centers. Hospital-based physicians perform at least 7,000 ambulatory surgeries and endoscopies. Core services include surgery, critical care, OB/GYN, medicine, cardiology, pediatrics, and geriatrics.

The Hospital is the primary healthcare provider for Chinatown and is a leader in providing culturally-appropriate outreach programs to the area’s burgeoning populations. In 2007, nearly 82% of the 3,000 newborns delivered were from the surrounding Chinese-American community. To better serve this community, the Hospital offers cultural sensitivity programs, and provides translation services in Mandarin and Cantonese, 24 hours a day.

In March 2008, Downtown Hospital received full accreditation from The Joint Commission. Downtown Hospital received the HealthGrades 2007/2008 Maternity Care Excellence Award, ranking the Hospital in the top 10 percent nationally of healthcare facilities providing maternity care. In 2006, Downtown Hospital received the New York State Department of Health Patient Safety Award. In 2005, Leap Frog acknowledged Downtown Hospital’s superior performance in the Hospital Quality and Safety Survey. In 2004, Downtown Hospital was named one of “Solucient’s 100 Most Improved Hospitals.”

In 2007, Downtown Hospital received grant funding from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to assist in the construction of a Wellness and Prevention Center which will provide enhanced, preventive medical and women’s health care services to the Downtown community. Downtown Hospital provides residency training programs in medicine, podiatry, and OB/GYN. In addition the hospital is a surgical residency training site for Weill Cornell Medical College. Downtown Hospital provides ready access to some of the most sophisticated medical technology and procedures and continues actively to develop programs which will bring clinical excellence through its membership in the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System.