was New York City's 19th municipal hospital, serving residents of the Lower East Side, a neighborhood that was at the time expanding with European immigration. It was the first public hospital in the United States to create a tuberculosis clinic, and the first to employ a female ambulance surgeon, Dr. Emily Dunning Barringer. When the hospital opened in 1885, its sole intent was to treat accident cases. Any patient needing to stay overnight was sent to nearby Bellevue Hospital. This soon changed – about two years after opening, the hospital had 40 beds in use. An 1894 article in the New York Times stated that Gouverneur did not have the resources or the space to properly serve the growing community. On May 12, 1897, construction began on a new and improved $200,000 four-story hospital nearby, with four wards and 104 beds. Gouverneur Hospital moved to the new building at 621 Water Street in 1901. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1982, and became an assisted living residence called Gouverneur Court in 1994. The health care plan HIP has its origins in Gouverneur Hospital. In 1940, Gouverneur's Dr. George A. Baehr organized a prepaid medical plan for low-income patients, which ultimately evolved into HIP. Move and modernization (1959–present) In 1959, Gouverneur lost its accreditation, and the hospital closed about a decade later. It was replaced by a new Gouverneur Hospital at 227 Madison Street, which formally opened on September 21, 1972. A 14-story, 216-bed hospital with an emergency room and outpatient clinics, the new building served Little Italy, Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Professional services at Gouverneur were initially provided by Beth Israel Hospital, through the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC). The HHC took over the municipal system in 1970, and Gouverneur was the first new institution opened by the HHC. Starting on September 22, 2008, a four-year, $180 million modernization project was embarked upon at 227 Madison Street. New and refurbished buildings were added, expanding the facility's primary and preventative healthcare services by 15%. The modernization project was completed in 2014, making the building thirteen stories high, with a new eight-story tower to serve as the nursing home. Timeline Photo gallery References External links Official website Hospitals in Manhattan 1885 establishments in New York (state) Hospital buildings completed in 1897 Teaching hospitals in New York City Buildings and