History of The University of Vermont Medical Center - A Legacy of Caring

The University of Vermont Medical Center, its three founding organizations and the Larner College of Medicine at UVM, share a rich history dating back to the 1800s.

Medical Center Hospital of Vermont

Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, formerly Mary Fletcher Hospital, traces its roots back to 1876 when Mary Fletcher, a young woman who never enjoyed good health, announced her intention to build a hospital in Burlington. It was to be the first hospital in Vermont. She named the hospital, which opened in 1879, after her mother, Mary L. Fletcher. It was renamed Medical Center Hospital of Vermont in 1967. Located at 111 Colchester Avenue on a hill overlooking Lake Champlain to the west and the Green Mountains to the east, is now The UVM Medical Center's Medical Center Campus.

Fanny Allen Hospital

The Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph founded the Fanny Allen Hospital in 1894. They named their hospital after a remarkable young woman named Frances Margaret Allen, better known as Fanny Allen, who completed her education in Montreal where she converted to Catholicism. Daughter of the famed Ethan Allen, defender of the Green Mountain State, the American nun nursed wounded soldiers in the War of 1812. Fanny Allen Hospital, located at 790 College Parkway in Colchester, one exit north of Burlington on Interstate 89, is now referred to as The UVM Medical Center's Fanny Allen Campus.

University Health Center

The University Health Center was formed in 1971 when the need for a coordinated program to teach ambulatory care to medical students encouraged the historic joining of 10 specialty practice groups under one roof. UHC is located in the former Bishop DeGoesbriand hospital, which opened in 1924. Located at 1 South Prospect Street in Burlington, just a five-minute walk from the Medical Center Campus, University Health Center is now referred to as The UVM Medical Center's UHC Campus.

The Larner College of Medicine at UVM

The Larner College of Medicine at UVM was established in 1822 as the nation's seventh medical school, but the college's roots reach back to 1804, when Dr. John Pomeroy began instructing students in his home on Burlington's waterfront. The college Dr. Pomeroy helped found now enjoys a strong reputation for graduating physicians with superlative clinical skills. These graduates, combined with physicians who received their residency training at The UVM Medical Center or its forbearers, now account for nearly half of the physicians practicing in Vermont. The Larner College of Medicine at UVM is located adjacent to The UVM Medical Center's Medical Center Campus, making it easy for students to walk between facilities.

Dawn of a New Day: The Founding of Fletcher Allen Health Care

In the early 1990s, a group of medical professionals and health care executives decided to bring together the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, the Fanny Allen Hospital, the Larner College of Medicine at UVM, and the University Health Center physicians' practice to create Fletcher Allen Health Care, an integrated health care delivery system known as The University of Vermont Medical Center.