Blythedale is New York State’s only independent, specialty children’s hospital. Our caring and highly specialized staff is dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of children with complex medical illnesses and conditions. Our Board Certified physicians, experienced nurses and supporting clinicians work with families to provide individualized, intensive and innovative medical and therapeutic care. Together with specialized school curricula and family support services, we help children achieve their rehabilitative goals and return to their communities. Providing exemplary patient care is central to everything we do. With more than 125 years of experience, Blythedale is a nationally recognized leader in developing innovative, multidisciplinary inpatient programs. As one of only 14 specialty children’s hospitals in the United States, Blythedale has the combined staff, expertise and resources – including the largest pediatric therapy department in New York State – to provide exceptional comprehensive care for medically complex children and support for their families. At Blythedale Children's Hospital, our outcomes truly do speak for themselves. Why does this matter to our families? Because we are experts at integrating second-to-none clinical expertise, education, and extensive parent training in order to get your child home. And nobody else does it as well as we do. It's just that simple. Since its inception in 1891, Blythedale has been on the forefront of caring for patients with emerging medical concerns, from tuberculosis and polio in our earliest days to emerging medical disorders today. As advances in medicine have led to children surviving premature birth, and catastrophic illness and injury in ever greater numbers, the Hospital is committed to providing the finest in clinical and rehabilitative care to help children return to their families and communities as soon as possible. 1891 A group of women of the New York Ethical Culture Society formed a committee known as The Teaching and Visiting Guild for Crippled Children. This group visited New York City’s shut-in children, and obtained medical attention for them and summer respite in Westchester County. 1903 $10,000 was donated toward the establishment of a permanent summer home in Hawthorne, just north of Blythedale’s current location. 1913 The Guild changed its name to the Blythedale Home, and admitted 34 children. Of the 26 girls and eight boys, all but one was a victim of tuberculosis. 1919 Blythedale’s school – an annex of P.S. 192 in Manhattan – has two classes, with an average register of 18 pupils each. 1922 Blythedale moved to its present campus in Valhalla. The new “Blythedale Home” took up residence in a 22-room main building located on 17 acres. 1926 With an average occupancy of 50 children, Blythedale expands its nursing staff to nine employees, four of whom were RNs. 1940 Blythedale’s most commonly treated conditions were as follows: Scoliosis (24 cases), Polio (20), Legg-Perthes (15), Tuberculosis (14) and Osteomyelitis (14). Blythedale’s top referring hospitals were The Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled (Hospital for Special Surgery), New York Post-Graduate Hospital (NYU Medical Center), and the Hospital for Joint Disease (NYU Langone). 1944 X-ray equipment is purchased. 1949 A new wing, accommodating 24 children, and a staff building were added. 1951 Dr. Arlo David Gurewitsch was named Medical Director. The Hospital begins a major shift away from serving as an orthopedic convalescent home to a hospital concerned with treating the “whole child.” 1961 Robert Stone took over as President of Blythedale - a position he would hold for 40 years. 1963 Blythedale starts a Day Hospital program. That year, the Hospital begins treating children with metabolic disorders, blood disorders, severe allergic reactions, speech and hearing disorders, and other disabilities requiring a wider range of medical services. 1964 The Hospital underwent a major $6.3 million reconstruction project to accommodate 92 beds. A swimming and treatment pool and a large multi-purpose area were added, followed by construction of a new school and diagnostic, therapy and administrative areas. That same year, Blythedale received its accreditation as a hospital, officially changing its name to Blythedale Children’s Hospital. 1971 Blythedale opened the Mt. Pleasant Blythedale School under its roof – the only hospital in the state with a public school district on site specifically designed to meet the educational needs of its patients. 1974 The Hospital grows its medical staff to 49 physicians. 1998 Blythedale added a beautiful 32,000 square-foot school building, attached to the Hospital. 2001 Larry Levine is appointed President & CEO. 2011 The Hospital completed its most extensive renovation to date with the opening of a $65.3 million, 56,000 square-foot inpatient hospital. The state-of-the-art, 86-bed inpatient building replaced the Hospital’s existing inpatient units. 2012 Blythedale opened The Stavros Niarchos Center for Speech & Audiology, a 6,000 square-foot center for inpatient and outpatient speech, hearing and language services, as well as state-of-the-art assistive technology. 2013 The Hospital opens its $15 million, 8,000 square-foot Day Hospital and Early Childhood Center. The Day Hospital features new exam rooms, treatment areas, feeding therapy rooms, treatment bays, and a spacious audiology booth that can accommodate children in wheelchairs and stretchers. The newly renovated Early Childhood Center includes five refurbished classrooms to facilitate the program’s growth. 2015 Blythedale receives an $8 million gift from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to help fund the construction of the Hospital’s new 24-bed 17,000 square-foot pediatric long term care unit. 2016 The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Pediatric Long Term Care Pavilion opens. Today, we continue our long tradition of compassionate, child-focused care in which families are important partners in their child’s health.