1890

To meet a need identified by Miss Lucy Derby and the Trinity Dispensary, Miss Caroline Staples starts a fund “for the purpose of establishing a hospital for the diseases of women as a memorial to the late Mrs. J.R. Vincent,” a generous and respected Boston actress.

1891

The Vincent Memorial Hospital is founded and purchases a house at 44 Chambers Street. The Reverend Phillips Brooks of Trinity Church consecrates the new hospital, which has 12 beds for the care of “sick and indigent women.” Dr. Grace Wolcott and Dr. Lena Ingraham constitute the medical and surgical staff. A volunteer Board of Managers assisted with amenities for patients and staff.

1892

Inspired by Dr. Ingraham’s senior class physiology students at Mrs. Shaw’s School for Girls, the Vincent Club is founded to raise funds for the new hospital. The first Vincent Show, held one month after the Club’s founding, raises $829.04.

1908

The Vincent moves to its newly built quarters at 125 South Huntington Avenue.

1931

Renowned cancer specialist Joe V. Meigs, MD, is named Vincent Chief of Staff.

1941

Upon Dr. Meigs’s recommendation and recognizing the tremendous potential of merging the VMH with the broad resources of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Vincent accepts the offer of MGH to become its gynecology unit, while retaining its own identity and staff. Soon thereafter, the VMH moves to temporary quarters in the White Building of MGH.

1948

The Vincent Burnham Building is completed and patients are admitted to the new hospital. Located on three floors, Vincent facilities include 43 semiprivate and ward service beds, laboratories, offices, a conference room, a state-of-the-art cystoscopy room and a Vincent Club room.

1953

Dr. Meigs is succeeded by his protégé, Howard Ulfelder, MD, as Vincent Chief of Staff.

1971

Pursuing the comment of a mother who wondered about her daughter’s cancer, Dr. Ulfelder is the first to associate the occurrence of gynecologic cancer in adolescent girls with the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES), given to mothers during pregnancy to prevent miscarriage. The observation revolutionizes the country’s care for pregnant women, reinforcing the need to be vigilant when prescribing medication for pregnant women.

1988

Isaac Schiff, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist, is named Chief of Staff, beginning an historic 27-year tenure of Vincent leadership. Concurrently, the agreement between the VMH and MGH is revised, with VMH and Vincent Club leaders working with legal counsel and MGH representatives. The agreement preserves the unique strengths of the Vincent in an era of great complexity in healthcare administration and finance. The Vincent’s independent hospital license is allowed to expire, and MGH agrees to formally designate with the name “’Vincent” those places and programs associated with and funded by the Vincent Memorial Hospital Corporation. The agreement reaffirms the corporate independence of the Vincent and its endowment.

1992

The Vincent In-Vitro Fertilization Unit opens on the second floor of the Vincent Burnham Building. The unit is totally self-contained in terms of the provision of tests and procedures, allowing for maximum patient privacy. Soon after opening, the unit achieves a clinical pregnancy rate per transfer equaling those of older, more established programs.

1994

The MGH Vincent Obstetrics Program opens in 45,000 square feet of main campus space in the new Blake Building, with 11 labor/delivery/recovery (LDR) rooms, two operating rooms for cesarean sections, 21 postpartum beds and two nurseries. Prenatal care is also available in the Blake Building, along with Obstetrical Ultrasound and a Prenatal Diagnosis Unit. In its first year, the program is responsible for the delivery of 776 babies; five years later program volume is more than 3,000 deliveries per year.

1995

The Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology is established. With initial funding from the Vincent Memorial Hospital, the center grows to become one of the leading reproductive science research facilities in the country.

2011

The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology approves the application of the Vincent Division of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery to begin a subspecialty fellowship training program in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, today known as Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery (URPS). With this achievement, the MGH Vincent Department of OB/GYN has the distinction of possessing four board-certified OB/GYN fellowship programs — in URPS, Gynecologic Oncology, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Today, a total of 12 young physician-scientists is enrolled in these three-year rotating Vincent fellowships.

2015

Jeffrey Ecker, MD, is named chair of the Vincent Department of OB/GYN, overseeing significant growth in subspecialty clinics and expansion of OB/GYN services in community centers.

2018

The Vincent nonprofit corporation formally changes its name to The Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation (VMHF) to better reflect its role as a funding organization while recognizing its distinguished heritage as a hospital for women.

2019

Conveying the latest news about Vincent achievements, an informative e-newsletter is launched. SUBSCRIBE TODAY

2022

Participating in the Campaign for Mass General, the VMHF raises $2 million to establish the VMHF Endowed Chair in Reproductive Biology, with Bo Rueda, PhD, director of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, named the first incumbent.

2024

Nawal Nour, MD, MPH, MBA, is named chair of the integrated Mass General Brigham (MGB) department of OB/GYN, formed by the clinical consolidation of two renowned academic medical centers — Mass General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Under Dr. Nour’s leadership, work is proceeding to bring what were two departments together to achieve best practices for women’s care and improved patient access.

Today

In recent years, the VMHF has annually provided more than $1 million to support basic research in the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology as well as teaching and research support for fellowship training in four OB/GYN subspecialties. To ensure this critical funding continues, the organization works to replenish its endowment through annual fundraising appeals. For more information,  view the VMHF annual reports.