# Lenox Hill Hospital
**Lenox Hill Hospital** is a voluntary non-profit, private acute care hospital at 100 East 77th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City, and a teaching hospital of the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) • [2](https://publicdatahub.org/hospital/lenox-hill-hospital) Founded in 1857 in lower Manhattan as the German Dispensary, it is one of New York's oldest hospitals and, since 2010, part of the Northwell Health system.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) • [3](https://www.dasny.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/LIJ%202011A.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1857, in lower Manhattan, as the German Dispensary, serving the immigrant neighborhood called "Little Germany"[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) |
| Renamed | "Lenox Hill" in 1918, after its Upper East Side neighborhood, to distance the institution from Germany during World War I[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) |
| Current site | Settled at its present Upper East Side location in 1905; address 100 East 77th Street, New York, NY 10075[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) • [2](https://publicdatahub.org/hospital/lenox-hill-hospital) |
| Ownership | Acquired by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (now Northwell Health) on May 19, 2010, as a 652-bed acute care hospital[3](https://www.dasny.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/LIJ%202011A.pdf) |
| Teaching role | Teaching hospital for the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) |
| Patient volume | More than 325,000 patients treated annually, with roughly 3,600 employees at the time of the 2010 affiliation[4](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agreement-finalized-for-lenox-hill-hospital-to-join-north-shore-lij-health-system-94269929.html) • [1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) |
| CMS quality rating | 5 out of 5 stars overall, with 9 of 50 reported quality measures better than the national rate and 0 worse[2](https://publicdatahub.org/hospital/lenox-hill-hospital) |
| Expansion | A $2 billion rebuilding project, approved by the New York City Council on August 14, 2025, will include 475 single-bed patient rooms in a 370-foot building[5](https://council.nyc.gov/press/2025/08/14/2940/) |
## Origins as a German institution
The hospital began in 1857 as the German Dispensary, founded by German-born physicians to serve the large immigrant community of "Little Germany" on Manhattan's Lower East Side, from which most of its early patients came.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) The founders emerged from the wave of German "Forty-Eighters" who fled Europe after the failed revolutions of 1848; the initial hospital staff included the Vienna-trained surgeon Ernst Krackowizer and the Bonn-trained gynecologist Emil Noeggerath.[6](https://escholarship.org/content/qt5z38t24f/qt5z38t24f.pdf?t=sn8pbs) In 1861, with support from philanthropists such as August Belmont and German-born businessmen, the institution was incorporated, and five years later it became the German Hospital and Dispensary of the City of New York.[7](https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2011/05/1884-german-dispensary-ottendorfer.html)
**Growth and relocation.** Rising patient numbers forced several moves, and the hospital settled at its current [Upper East Side](https://www.edgepedia.org/upper-east-side) site in 1905.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) It established a dispensary in 1884, part of a wave of separate dispensary buildings constructed by Upper East Side hospitals in that decade.[8](https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1053.pdf) A five-story nurses' training school opened at 77th Street and Lexington Avenue in February 1894, with four young German-American women forming the first class.[9](https://academia-lab.com/enciclopedia/hospital-lenox-hill/)
**The 1918 renaming.** During World War I the institution dropped its German identity, taking the name "Lenox Hill" in 1918 after the Upper East Side neighborhood where it then stood.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/)
## Clinical development
The hospital expanded its services steadily through the twentieth century. In 1933 it established a maternity service, opened a cancer clinic, and prepared for the debut of its heart clinic.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) In 1957 it opened one of the first intensive care units in Manhattan, and ten years later it opened the city's first cardiac care unit.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/) A photograph album presented at the dedication of the Charles R. Lachman Community Health Center on September 20, 1966, now held by the National Library of Medicine, documents this mid-century modernization, including renovated emergency rooms, wards, and ambulance entrances.[1](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/)
In 2007, Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital was incorporated into Lenox Hill Hospital, and the combined institution is now listed by Northwell as "Lenox Hill Hospital (including Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital)".[9](https://academia-lab.com/enciclopedia/hospital-lenox-hill/) • [10](https://jobs.northwell.edu/about_us/)
## Northwell Health affiliation
On May 19, 2010, the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System acquired Lenox Hill, a 652-bed acute care hospital, giving the system its first Manhattan hospital.[3](https://www.dasny.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/LIJ%202011A.pdf) • [11](https://support.northwell.edu/document.doc?id=59) At the time of the affiliation the hospital had approximately 3,600 employees and served more than 325,000 patients annually.[4](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agreement-finalized-for-lenox-hill-hospital-to-join-north-shore-lij-health-system-94269929.html) The system, renamed Northwell Health, describes Lenox Hill as its flagship Manhattan hospital.[12](https://www.renewinglenox.org/about)
## Quality ratings
Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating program, Lenox Hill Hospital holds a 5 out of 5 overall rating, a score shared with 19 other hospitals in New York State; it reported 50 quality measures, performing better than the national rate on 9 and worse on none.[2](https://publicdatahub.org/hospital/lenox-hill-hospital) The rating has moved upward recently: CMS raised the hospital from 4 to 5 stars between its May 2026 and August 2026 releases, and third-party rankings place it around #149 of 3,182 rated US hospitals by overall star rating.[13](https://plainhospital.com/hospital/lenox-hill-hospital-new-york-ny) Patient-survey data show mixed experience scores; for example, 66% of patients reported their room and bathroom were "Always" clean, against a national average of 74%.[14](https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/details/hospital/330024/view-all/?city=New+York&state=NY&zipcode=)
## The 2025 expansion
Northwell proposed a $2 billion rebuilding of the hospital, designed by Ennead Architects and Ewing Cole, to replace the existing 160-foot complex, which occupies the block bounded by Lexington and Park Avenues and East 76th and East 77th Streets.[15](https://newyorkyimby.com/2025/08/lenox-hill-hospital-expansion-approved-by-city-council-at-100-east-77th-street-on-manhattans-upper-east-side.html) The plan drew sustained opposition from some Upper East Side residents and community groups; Community Board 8 voted against the original proposal, and the maximum building height was reduced from 436 feet to 370 feet in response to community input.[16](https://savelenoxhill.org/news-and-press-2025) • [5](https://council.nyc.gov/press/2025/08/14/2940/)
The [New York City Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-city-council) unanimously approved the modified project on August 14, 2025. The approved plan includes 475 single-bed patient rooms, modernized operating rooms and clinical spaces, new ambulance bays, and investments in the southbound entrance of the 77th Street subway station, including ADA accessibility.[5](https://council.nyc.gov/press/2025/08/14/2940/) • [17](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/lenox-hill-hospital-expansion-nyc-council-vote/?intcid=CNR-02-0623)
## In popular culture
The hospital was the subject of *Lenox Hill*, a Netflix documentary series released in June 2020 that follows four of its physicians, two neurosurgeons, an emergency room doctor, and an OB-GYN chief resident, through their professional and personal lives.[18](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/lenox_hill) • [19](https://time.com/5846647/lenox-hill-netflix-review/) The series was created by director-producers Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash, who later made the related Netflix series *Emergency NYC*.[19](https://time.com/5846647/lenox-hill-netflix-review/) • [20](https://assets.pubpub.org/0udfsz51/Investigating%20Medical%20Drama.%20TV%20Series%20Approaches%20and%20Perspectives-41703235697121.pdf)
## References
1. [Lenox Hill Hospital's Modernization Captured in Photographs, Circulating Now (NLM Historical Collections)](https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/20/lenox-hill-hospitals-modernization-captured-in-photographs/amp/)
2. [Lenox Hill Hospital, CMS data profile, PublicDataHub](https://publicdatahub.org/hospital/lenox-hill-hospital)
3. [Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, LIJ 2011A financing document](https://www.dasny.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/LIJ%202011A.pdf)
4. [Agreement Finalized for Lenox Hill Hospital to Join North Shore-LIJ Health System, PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agreement-finalized-for-lenox-hill-hospital-to-join-north-shore-lij-health-system-94269929.html)
5. [NYC Council press release, August 14, 2025](https://council.nyc.gov/press/2025/08/14/2940/)
6. [German medical history source, eScholarship](https://escholarship.org/content/qt5z38t24f/qt5z38t24f.pdf?t=sn8pbs)
7. [The 1884 German Dispensary (Ottendorfer Clinic), Daytonian in Manhattan](https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2011/05/1884-german-dispensary-ottendorfer.html)
8. [149-151 East 67th Street Building, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission](https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1053.pdf)
9. [Hospital Lenox Hill, AcademiaLab](https://academia-lab.com/enciclopedia/hospital-lenox-hill/)
10. [About Us, Careers at Northwell Health](https://jobs.northwell.edu/about_us/)
11. [North Shore-LIJ announcement of Lenox Hill acquisition](https://support.northwell.edu/document.doc?id=59)
12. [Renewing Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health](https://www.renewinglenox.org/about)
13. [Lenox Hill Hospital, PlainHospital CMS star-rating profile](https://plainhospital.com/hospital/lenox-hill-hospital-new-york-ny)
14. [Medicare Care Compare, hospital patient survey data](https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/details/hospital/330024/view-all/?city=New+York&state=NY&zipcode=)
15. [Lenox Hill Hospital Expansion Approved by City Council, New York YIMBY](https://newyorkyimby.com/2025/08/lenox-hill-hospital-expansion-approved-by-city-council-at-100-east-77th-street-on-manhattans-upper-east-side.html)
16. [News and Press, Save Lenox Hill](https://savelenoxhill.org/news-and-press-2025)
17. [New York City Council approves controversial Lenox Hill Hospital expansion, CBS New York](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/lenox-hill-hospital-expansion-nyc-council-vote/?intcid=CNR-02-0623)
18. [Lenox Hill, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/lenox_hill)
19. [Netflix Docuseries Lenox Hill review, Time](https://time.com/5846647/lenox-hill-netflix-review/)
20. [Investigating Medical Drama: TV Series Approaches and Perspectives](https://assets.pubpub.org/0udfsz51/Investigating%20Medical%20Drama.%20TV%20Series%20Approaches%20and%20Perspectives-41703235697121.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Human health and medicine › Public health and healthcare › Individual hospitals and facilities*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license