Boston Floating Hospital

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May 7, 2025

Discover the fascinating story of a children's hospital that floated in Boston Harbor, providing care during a turbulent time in the city's history. Learn about its innovative approach to patient care and the critical role of clean air in recovery. Explore the courageous vision behind its creation and the extensive community support that made it possible. The podcast also highlights advances in infant nutrition and the hospital's response to public health crises, revealing how this unique institution reshaped healthcare for families in need.

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INSIGHT

Summer Child Mortality Causes

Boston had high child mortality in the late 19th century due to summer diarrheal diseases like cholera morbus.
Poor living conditions, unpasteurized milk, and inadequate infant feeding worsened risks, particularly for Irish immigrant families.

INSIGHT

Inspiration for Floating Hospital

Mothers took babies to harbor bridges to find relief from summer heat and disease risk.
Reverend Rufus B. Tobey aimed to replicate NYC's hospital boat concept to improve children's health with fresh sea air.

ANECDOTE

Starting on the Clifford Barge

The Boston Floating Hospital began in 1894 on a chartered barge called the Clifford.
It provided fresh sea air and basic care to sick infants, with mothers learning caregiving on board.

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The Boston Floating Hospital was a children’s hospital that operated on a boat in Boston Harbor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Research:

Berkeley Temple. “Threescore years and ten, 1827-1897: Pine Street Church ; Berkeley Street Church ; Berkley Temple.” Boston : Press of Samuel Usher, 1897. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008416560
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Boston Floating Hospital. “Historical sketch of the origin and development of the Boston Floating Hospital.” 1903. https://archive.org/details/101727275.nlm.nih.gov
Egan, Sarah A. “A Reply from the Boston Floating Hospital.” The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 11, No. 6 (Mar., 1911). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3405022
Friends of the Boston Harborwalk. “Precious Cargo On Board.” https://boshw.us/sign/precious-cargo-on-board/?lang=english
Gilson, Grace. “Babies on a boat: When a floating hospital helped cure Boston’s children.” Boston Globe. 1/20/2022. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/01/20/metro/hospital-sea-that-once-cured-bostons-children/
Golden, Janet. “From Wet Nurse Directory to Milk Bank: Delivery of Human Milk in Boston, 1909-1927.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine. Vol. 62, No. 4. Winter 1988. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44443092
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Hall, Mary I. “The Boston Floating Hospital.” The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Jan., 1911). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3404922
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Jimison, Robert. “Who’s the mystery child in this 103-year-old Floating Hospital photo?” CNN. 2/14/2017. https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/health/floating-hospital-1914-mystery-photo-history/index.html
Keeling, Arlene. “Nursing On Board the Boston Floating Hospital.” Windows in Time. Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry. October 2015.
Kulig, John. “12 Things You Didn't Know About The History Of Boston's Floating Hospital For Children.” WBUR. 10/3/2014. https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/10/01/boston-floating-kulig
NavSource Online: Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive. Boston Floating Hospital (ID 2366) https://www.navsource.org/archives/12/172366.htm
“A History of the Boston Floating Hospital.” Vol. 19. No. 4. 1957. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.19.4.629
Perry, Charlotte Mandeville. “Our Floating Hospitals.” The American Journal of Nursing, Nov., 1900, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Nov., 1900). Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/3402614
Prinz, Lucie with Jacoba Van Schaik. “The Boston Floating Hospital: How a Boston Harbor Barge Changed the Course of Pediatric Medicine.” Tufts Medical Center. 2014.
Tufts Archival Research Center. “Boston Floating Hospital.” https://archives.tufts.edu/agents/corporate_entities/9474?&page=13
Tufts CHSP. “End of an Era: The Closing of Tufts Children’s Hospital, Putting Inpatient Pediatric Care in Context.” 4/8/2022. https://sites.tufts.edu/chsp/2022/04/08/end-of-an-era-the-closing-of-tufts-childrens-hospital-putting-inpatient-pediatric-care-in-context/

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