History

Serving the Community Since the 1900s

Our roots extend back to the Municipal Hospital, which was built on East Ferry Street in 1905 to serve small-pox patients. By 1912, the capacity of this facility became over-extended in the face of scarlet fever and later, tuberculosis epidemic. Thus, the new Buffalo City Hospital was built at 462 Grider Street.

Dr. Edward J. Meyer co-founded the hospital and was a member of its first board of managers. Dr. Meyer’s service to the Buffalo City Hospital - from 1912 to the 1930s - was recognized when the hospital was renamed the Edward J. Meyer Memorial Hospital in 1939.

As early as 1918, the hospital had become one of the few institutions in the world treating virtually every known medical problem. And, mainly through the efforts of Dr. Meyer, the hospital had joined the foremost teaching facilities in the country, providing training for physicians, dentists, nurses and dieticians.

During the early 1970s, a new hospital building was constructed on the Grider Street campus and named the Erie County Medical Center to signify the wide-ranging role the hospital had taken in the community. By 1989, the high standards at the medical center had earned it the designations of Western New York’s trauma and burn treatment centers.

Today, ECMC has grown beyond the grounds of its 65-acre base on Grider Street, into what is now known as the Erie County Medical Center Healthcare Network. ECMC primary care health centers and the Erie County Home, a long-term care facility, are conveniently located in the city of Buffalo and neighboring suburbs.

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