With Backus Hospital, Hartford Hospital, The Hospital of Central Connecticut and many more, Connecticut is home to many top-notch hospitals. In fact, six of the state’s hospitals just made Healthgrades’ list of the top 250 hospitals of 2025.

However, Connecticut’s hospitals are not only recognized for their quality care, but also for their history. In fact, the state’s first hospital opened almost 200 years ago. Located in New Haven, State Hospital was first founded in 1826 to provide health care for the city’s poor residents. Now called Yale New Haven Hospital, the hospital is still operating today.

Here’s its founding story.

History of Yale New Haven Hospital

According to the hospital’s website, Yale New Haven Hospital dates back to 1826, when the General Hospital Society of Connecticut founded a charitable institution for those who could not regularly afford health care, then called State Hospital. The hospital originally operated out of rented spaces, establishing a 13-bed building of its own in 1833.

In the hospital’s early days, it expanded to provide care for sailors from New Haven’s seaport and soldiers during the Civil War, soon establishing itself as a center of care for the entire New Haven community.

As its current name suggests, State Hospital also built a relationship with the Medical Institution of Yale College, an affiliation it still holds today as one of the university’s teaching hospitals.

CT health care: What are the best hospitals in CT? See Healthgrades 2025 America’s Best Hospitals list

Over the many years since its founding, Yale New Haven Hospital has grown from only 13 beds to 1,541 beds, making it one of the largest hospitals in the country. The hospital is widely regarded as one of the country’s premier medical centers, recently being named to Healthgrades’ top 250 hospitals of 2025.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: What is the oldest hospital in CT? The history of Yale New Haven

Hospital