Floating Hospital for Children

Tufts Children's Hospital, historically known as the Floating Hospital for Children, was a pediatric acute care hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally founded in 1894 as a hospital ship to provide care to children in the harbor's fresh air, it transitioned to a land-based facility and became the primary pediatric teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. The institution provided a full range of pediatric services, from general care to advanced subspecialties like neonatal intensive care and pediatric oncology. In 2022, Tufts Medical Center made the strategic decision to close its pediatric inpatient beds to expand adult critical care capacity, transitioning its inpatient pediatric services to Boston Children's Hospital. Despite the closure of inpatient units, the organization continues to provide outpatient pediatric specialty care and maintains its Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.