<P> Prior to the 19th century hospital reforms , the well - being of the child was thought to be in the hands of the mother ; therefore , there was little discussion of children 's medicine , and as a result next to no widespread formal institutions which focused on healing children . There were however centres which focused on helping abandoned children and offering care in hopes that these children might survive into adulthood . Some examples include orphanages , dispensaries , and foundling hospitals . Florence 's Hospital of the Innocent ( Ospedale degli Innocenti ) was originally a charity based orphanage which opened in 1445 ; its aim was to nurse sick and abandoned infants back to health . A later example and better established institution whose goal it was to help rehabilitate infants was the Foundling Hospital founded by Thomas Coram in 1741 . Foundling hospitals were set up to receive abandoned infants , nurse them back to health , teach them a trade or skill , and integrate them back into society . Coram 's foundling hospital was revolutionary because it was one of the United Kingdoms first children charities . Moreover , it was largely made successful by the powerful people who donated money to the hospital . Coram 's hospital would eventually be faced with the fact that the number of infants needing care outweighed their hospitals capacity . In order to accommodate the number of children in need , there were attempts to set up similar hospitals throughout the UK ; they ultimately were unsuccessful due to the lack of funding . Simultaneously , dispensaries which were also funded by donations were being opened in order to provide medicine and medical attention to those who could not afford private care . Dispensaries and foundling hospitals were the earliest forms of what would later become children 's hospitals . The establishing of the Foundling Hospital by Thomas Coram was a direct response to the high infant mortality rate in London , England . Although foundling hospitals acknowledged the high infant mortality rate , infant mortality would not be addressed in a wide spread way until the early 19th century when children 's hospitals would begin to open in Vienna , Moscow , Prague , Berlin , and various other major cities throughout Europe . </P>
<P> Prior to the 19th century hospital reforms , the well - being of the child was thought to be in the hands of the mother ; therefore , there was little discussion of children 's medicine , and as a result next to no widespread formal institutions which focused on healing children . There were however centres which focused on helping abandoned children and offering care in hopes that these children might survive into adulthood . Some examples include orphanages , dispensaries , and foundling hospitals . Florence 's Hospital of the Innocent ( Ospedale degli Innocenti ) was originally a charity based orphanage which opened in 1445 ; its aim was to nurse sick and abandoned infants back to health . A later example and better established institution whose goal it was to help rehabilitate infants was the Foundling Hospital founded by Thomas Coram in 1741 . Foundling hospitals were set up to receive abandoned infants , nurse them back to health , teach them a trade or skill , and integrate them back into society . Coram 's foundling hospital was revolutionary because it was one of the United Kingdoms first children charities . Moreover , it was largely made successful by the powerful people who donated money to the hospital . Coram 's hospital would eventually be faced with the fact that the number of infants needing care outweighed their hospitals capacity . In order to accommodate the number of children in need , there were attempts to set up similar hospitals throughout the UK ; they ultimately were unsuccessful due to the lack of funding . Simultaneously , dispensaries which were also funded by donations were being opened in order to provide medicine and medical attention to those who could not afford private care . Dispensaries and foundling hospitals were the earliest forms of what would later become children 's hospitals . The establishing of the Foundling Hospital by Thomas Coram was a direct response to the high infant mortality rate in London , England . Although foundling hospitals acknowledged the high infant mortality rate , infant mortality would not be addressed in a wide spread way until the early 19th century when children 's hospitals would begin to open in Vienna , Moscow , Prague , Berlin , and various other major cities throughout Europe . </P>
when was the first children 's hospital built
when was the first children 's hospital built
1741
1741