Hospital type Specialist Website www.masseyeandear.org CFO CarolAnn Williams Founded 1824 | Affiliated university Harvard Medical School Phone +1 617-523-7900 Number of beds 41 | |
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Location 243 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Emergency department 24-hour emergency ophthalmology and otolaryngology service Speciality Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology Address 243 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114, USA Profiles | ||
Massachusetts eye and ear infirmary
Massachusetts Eye and Ear (Mass. Eye and Ear, or MEE) is a specialty hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which focuses on ophthalmology (eye), otolaryngology (ear/nose/throat), and related medicine and research. Founded in 1824 as the Boston Eye Infirmary (BEI), it has also been known as the Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary (MCEEI), and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI). It is a teaching partner of Harvard Medical School.
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Mass. Eye and Ear has earned an international reputation for its successful treatment of the most difficult diseases and conditions of the eye, ear, nose, throat, head, and neck, and for its outstanding contributions to medical research and education. In 2015, MEEI has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 4th best hospital in the United States for ophthalmology and 1st in the nation for otolaryngology.
The primary teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, Mass. Eye and Ear trains more than 110 residents and fellows each year in its various sub-specialties, including cornea, neuro-ophthalmology, retina, eye pathology, pediatrics, glaucoma, ocular oncology, immunology, head & neck surgery, oncology, pediatric otolaryngology, facial plastics, otology and oto-neurology. In addition to ophthalmology and otolarynology, the hospital provides patient services and conducts research and clinical training in audiology (diagnostics, hearing aids and cochlear implants), balance (vestibular), facial nerve, thyroid, voice and speech, and vision rehabilitation.
Main campus
The hospital's main campus is located in Boston's West End, surrounded by various Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) buildings. MEEI and MGH are both Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals, the MGH departments of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology are actually departments at MEEI, and both hospitals tend to refer patients to one another. Despite this organizational and physical closeness, MEEI is a separate organization from MGH, with its own Board of Directors and executive team. Notwithstanding this distinction, maps will often show the entire area labeled as "Massachusetts General Hospital".
Consisting of a 12-story tower, the current main building was completed in 1973. It houses 42 inpatient beds.
The transit stop serving the two hospitals is "Charles/MGH" on the MBTA Red Line train. The signs at the train station (which was rebuilt and opened in 2007) have smaller printing reading "Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary" in addition to the prominent "Charles/MGH" signs. C. Stephen Foster developed the first ocular immunology service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
The main campus is also home to the Norman Knight Hyperbaric Medicine Center, which provides 24-hour emergency treatment for smoke inhalation, carbon monoxide poisoning, and diving injuries such as decompression sickness ("the bends"). Treatment for problem-wound healing is also conducted in the Center.
Other locations
Mass. Eye and Ear has a total of 18 sites in the Greater Boston region, including locations in the Longwood Medical Area, Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, and Braintree, Concord, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Milton, Medford, Newton, Plainville, Providence, RI, Quincy, Stoneham, Waltham, Weymouth.