A venerable member of the community, Harlem Hospital was founded in 1887. Today, at 400 beds, it is the largest health facility in Harlem capable of treating the most seriously ill. Harlem has one of the finest trauma teams in the nation, and the new Urgent Care Center has reduced waiting time in their busy, 911-designated, Level I Emergency Department. Special Asthma Treatment and Pediatric Emergency Units provide specialized critical care. Harlem also operates one of only a few Burn Units in New York City that includes a specialty in plastic and reconstructive surgery to reduce the scarring unique to the minority community.
Their Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, one of America's oldest, provides diagnosis, prenatal diagnosis, counseling and genetic counseling. The award-winning model Tuberculosis Clinic, one of only three in the nation, has reduced active tuberculosis cases in Harlem by 75 percent between 1992 and the present.