View source for Massachusetts Eye and Ear

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox hospital
| Name = Massachusetts Eye and Ear
| Org/Group = [[Mass General Brigham]]
| Affiliation = [[Harvard Medical School]]/[[Harvard University]]
| logo_size = 285
| Image = Mass-Eye-and-Ear.jpg
| image_size = 285
| Caption = MEE Main Campus
| Logo = Mass_Eye_and_Ear-MGB_Logo.jpeg
| Location = 243 Charles Street
| Region = [[Boston]]
| State = [[Massachusetts]]
| Country = US
| Coordinates = {{coord|42|21|38.39|N|71|04|12.09|W|display=title,inline}}
| Type = Specialist
| Speciality = [[Ophthalmology]], [[Otolaryngology]]
| Standards = <!-- optional -->
| Emergency = Yes (Specialty)
| Beds = 41<ref name="MEEE-Facts"/>
| Founded = 1824<ref name="MEEI-Timeline"/>
|| publictransit = [[Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority|MBTA]] {{rint|Boston|red}} at [[Charles/MGH station]]

{{URL|https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/patient-care/patient-visitor-information/planning-your-visit/shuttles|Mass General Brigham Shuttles}} at [[Massachusetts General Hospital]]
| Website = {{URL|www.masseyeandear.org}}|
}}

'''Massachusetts Eye and Ear''' ('''Mass Eye and Ear''', or '''MEE''') is a specialty hospital located in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]], which focuses on [[ophthalmology]] (eye), [[otolaryngology]] (ear/nose/throat), and related [[medicine]] and [[medical research|research]]. Founded in 1824 as the Boston Eye Infirmary (BEI), it has also been known as the Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary (MCEEI) and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI).<ref name="MEEI-Timeline">{{cite web|title=History of Mass. Eye and Ear|publisher=Mass. ye and Ear|url=http://www.masseyeandear.org/about-us/meei-history-timeline|access-date=2015-12-15}}</ref> It is a teaching partner of [[Harvard Medical School]].

Massachusetts Eye and Ear has earned an international reputation for its successful treatment of the most difficult diseases and conditions of the [[eye]], ear, nose, throat, head, and neck and for its outstanding contributions to medical research and education. In 2018, Massachusetts Eye and Ear had two adult specialties nationally ranked the "U.S. News Best Hospitals Rankings and Ratings 2018-18, with the [[Ophthalmology|Department of Ophthalmology]] ranked number four in the U.S. and the [[Otolaryngology|Department of Otolaryngology]] placing number six in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/ma/massachusetts-eye-and-ear-infirmary-6140420 |title= Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |access-date=2018-08-14 }}</ref>

The primary teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear trains more than 110 residents and fellows each year in its various sub-specialties, including [[cornea]], [[neuro-ophthalmology]], retina, eye pathology, pediatrics, [[glaucoma]], [[ocular oncology]], [[immunology]], head & neck surgery, [[oncology]], pediatric [[otolaryngology]], facial plastics, [[otology]] and oto-[[neurology]].<ref name="MEEI-Timeline"/> In addition to ophthalmology and otolaryngology, the hospital provides patient services and conducts research and clinical training in audiology (diagnostics, hearing aids, and [[cochlear implant]]s), balance (vestibular), facial nerve, thyroid, voice and speech, and [[vision rehabilitation]].

== Main campus ==

The hospital's main campus is located in Boston's [[West End, Boston|West End]], surrounded by various [[Massachusetts General Hospital]] (MGH) buildings. MEEI and MGH are both Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals; the MGH departments of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology are actually departments at MEEI,<ref name="MGH-Eye">{{cite web|title=Ophthalmology|publisher=Massachusetts General Hospital|url=http://www.massgeneral.org/ophthalmology/|access-date=2015-12-15}}</ref><ref name="MGH-ENT">{{cite web|title=The Department of Otolaryngology (ENT)|publisher=Massachusetts General Hospital|url=http://www.massgeneral.org/otolaryngology/|access-date=2015-12-15}}</ref> and both hospitals tend to refer patients to one another. Despite this organizational and physical closeness, MEEI is a separate organization from MGH, with its own Board of Directors and executive team. notwithstanding this distinction, maps will often show the entire area labeled as "Massachusetts General Hospital".{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} However, they are both members of [[Mass General Brigham]].

Consisting of a 13-story tower (12 numbered floors + the S (Surgical) Floor), the current main building was completed in 1973.<ref name="Emporis-Main">{{cite web|title=Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary|website=Emporis.com|publisher=[[Emporis|Emporis GmbH]]|url=http://www.emporis.com/building/massachusettseyeandearinfirmary-boston-ma-usa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429050932/http://www.emporis.com/building/massachusettseyeandearinfirmary-boston-ma-usa|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 29, 2014|access-date=2015-12-15}}</ref>  It houses 42 inpatient beds.<ref name="MEEE-Facts">{{cite web|title=Quick Facts about Mass. Eye and Ear|publisher=Mass. ye and Ear|url=http://www.masseyeandear.org/news/facts|access-date=2015-12-15}}</ref>

The transit stop serving the two hospitals is "[[Charles/MGH (MBTA station)|Charles/MGH]]" on the MBTA [[Red Line (MBTA)|Red Line]] train. The signs at the train station (which was rebuilt and opened in 2007) have smaller printing reading "Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary" in addition to the prominent "Charles/MGH" signs, and "Mass Eye and Ear Infirmry" is announced in some newer trains. [[C. Stephen Foster]] developed the first ocular immunology service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.<ref name="Sclero">{{cite web|url=https://www.sclero.org/isn/hr/bio/foster-c-stephen/en.html|title=ISN: Dr. C. Stephen Foster|first=International Scleroderma|last=Network|date=31 December 2018|website=Sclero.org|access-date=21 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biospace.com/News/sirion-therapeutics-acquires-u-s-license-to/42780|title=Sirion Therapeutics Acquires U S License To Develop New Treatment For Viral Eye Infection|website=Biospace.com}}</ref>

The main campus is also home to the Norman Knight Hyperbaric Medicine Center, which provides 24-hour emergency treatment for smoke inhalation, carbon monoxide poisoning, and diving injuries such as decompression sickness ("the bends"). Treatment for problem-wound healing is also conducted in the center.<ref name="MEEI-Hyperbaric">{{cite web|title=Hyperbaric Medicine|publisher=Mass. Eye & Ear|url=http://www.masseyeandear.org/specialties/otolaryngology/hyperbaric|access-date=2015-12-15}}</ref>

==History==
{{Expand section|date=September 2024}}
In a notice published on April 2, 2018, Massachusetts Eye and Ear's President John Fernandez announced the finalization of the agreement to make MEE a part of the [[Mass General Brigham]] hospital and physicians network.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.partners.org/Newsroom/Press-Releases/Partners-MEE-April1.aspx |title=Massachusetts Eye and Ear Joins Partners HealthCare |date=2018-04-02 |access-date=2018-04-02 }}</ref>

In April 2021, the organization settled a lawsuit over improper Medicare and Medicaid billing for $2.7 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2021/04/21/massachusetts-eye-ear-improper-claims-settlement |title=Mass. Eye And Ear Agrees To Pay $2.7M To Resolve Fraud Complaint |date=21 Apr 2021 |agency=The Associated Press}}</ref>

== Other locations ==
Massachusetts Eye and Ear has a total of 22 additional sites in the Greater Boston region, including three additional locations in Boston (the [[Longwood Medical and Academic Area|Longwood Medical Area]], Emerson Place and [[Charlestown, Boston|Charlestown]]), as well as 19 sites in suburbs of Boston, including [[Braintree, Massachusetts|Braintree]], [[Bridgewater, Massachusetts|Bridgewater]], [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord, MA]], [[Duxbury, Massachusetts|Duxbury]], [[Foxborough, Massachusetts|Foxboro]], [[Harwich, Massachusetts|Harwich]], [[Mashpee, Massachusetts|Mashpee]], [[Lexington, Massachusetts|Lexington]], [[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden]], [[Milton, Massachusetts|Milton]], [[Medford, Massachusetts|Medford]], [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]], [[Plainville, Massachusetts|Plainville]], [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence RI]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]], [[Stoneham, Massachusetts|Stoneham]] (two locations: one for Otolaryngology, and another for Ophthalmology and Audiology), [[Wellesley, Massachusetts|Wellesley]], and [[Weymouth, Massachusetts|Weymouth]].<ref name="MEEI-Locations">{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Eye and Ear Locations |url=http://www.masseyeandear.org/locations |access-date=18 July 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Eye and Ear}}</ref>

Some locations offer only one service or specialty.<ref name="MEEI-Locations" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|http://www.MassEyeAndEar.org}}

{{Hospitals in Massachusetts}}
{{Boston skyscrapers}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1824 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Eye hospitals in the United States]]
[[Category:Harvard Medical School]]
[[Category:Hospital buildings completed in 1973]]
[[Category:Hospitals established in 1824]]
[[Category:Hospitals in Boston]]
[[Category:Otorhinolaryngology organizations]]