In 1857, a small group led by Moses Brown Ives, established a fund for a community hospital. The hospital was not officially founded until 1863, during the American Civil War. with the support of local manufacturer, philanthropist and trustee, Henry J. Steere and others. John Sutherland, a local shoemaker, was the first patient admitted to Rhode Island Hospital on October 6, 1858.

The original Main Hospital Building was built in the 1860s, and the Southwest Pavilion was designed in Victorian style by architects Stone, Carpenter and Willson in 1898 and opened in 1900.

In 1915, the hospital became the first in the region and third in the nation to have an EKG machine.

In 1931, Pembroke College at Brown University partnered with the Rhode Island Hospital Training School to establish the area's first nursing program, training women to both learn and teach in nursing practices.

The hospital's main 10-story building was opened in 1955, and the Ambulatory Patient Center (APC Building) was completed in the 1970s. The Anderson Emergency building, connected to the complex via the Bridge Building, opened in 2005. The Southwest Pavilion, the last remaining building of the hospital's original 19th-century Victorian campus, was demolished in 2015 over the objection of local preservationists.

The hospital is the largest of the state's general acute care hospitals, and a tertiary care referral center, providing comprehensive health services for both adults and children. The facility is a 719-bed acute care hospital.

The Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) provides comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic services to inpatients and outpatients, with particular expertise in cardiology, oncology, neurosciences and orthopedics, as well as pediatrics at Hasbro Children's Hospital, its children's hospital which is located on the RIH campus. It is designated as the Level I Trauma Center for southeastern New England.

Hasbro Children's Hospital
Organisation
Type	Teaching
Affiliated university	Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Services
Emergency department	Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center
Beds	63
Speciality	Children's Hospital
History
Opened	1994
Links
Website	Hasbro Children's Website

Hasbro Children's Hospital is the largest of two children's hospitals' in Rhode Island and provides services to the Rhode Island and the southern New England area. The hospital has 63 beds and provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to patients aged 0–21. The hospital is affiliated with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Hasbro Children's also features a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.

The hospital was first proposed in 1989 when overcrowding and a lack of modern amenities in the old children's ward became obvious. The old pediatric wing was not designed with parents in mind and as a part of the healthcare team therefore parents were not able to comfortably sleep next to their children. Alan and Stephen Hassenfeld, the owners of Hasbro, helped start a campaign to raise money for the new hospital. The campaign raised over $23 million in the first 3 years with large contributions from the Hassenfeld family. The design of the new hospital was also heavily impacted by the Hassenfelds' down to the color palette, stating that since the hospital would bear their name they wanted a say in the non-medical related design aspects. The input helped create a non threatening friendly atmosphere for patients and families. The hospital ceremoniously opened on Valentines Day 1994 to great fanfare.

• List of hospitals in Rhode Island

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhode Island Hospital.

• Rhode Island Hospital Website

41°48′42.4″N 71°24′32.8″W / 41.811778°N 71.409111°W / 41.811778; -71.409111