James J. Peters VA Medical Center

James J. Peters VA Medical Center
Veterans Health Administration
Left: chapel, and nursing home. Center: main facility. Right: research building.
Geography
Location	Fordham [1] , The Bronx, New York, United States
Coordinates	40°52′02″N73°54′22″W / 40.86732525°N 73.90614128°W / 40.86732525; -73.90614128
Organization
Care system	Veterans Health Administration
Funding	Government hospital
Type	Teaching
Affiliated university	Icahn School of Medicine, North Central Bronx Hospital [2] Hospital for Special Surgery
Network	Veterans Integrated Service Networks 2: VA NY/NJ Veterans Healthcare Network
Services
Beds	311 hospital and 120 nursing home beds
Public transit access	New York City Subway : at Kingsbridge Road ​ at Kingsbridge Road at Marble Hill–225th Street New York City Bus : Bx3, Bx9, Bx22, Bx28, Bx32 Metro-North Railroad :       Hudson Line at Marble Hill
History
Former name(s)	United States Veterans' Hospital No. 81 Bronx Veterans Hospital Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center
Opened	April 15, 1922;103 years ago (1922-04-15) original campus 1981 (1981) current main building 1985 (1985) research building
Links
Website	www.bronx.va.gov
Lists	Hospitals in New York State
Other links	Hospitals in The Bronx

The James J. Peters VA Medical Center (also known as the Bronx Veterans Hospital) is a US Department of Veterans Affairs hospital complex located at 130 West Kingsbridge Road in West Fordham, Bronx, New York City. ^[1] The hospital is the headquarters of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network. ^[3] This network is also the parent network to VA New York Harbor Healthcare System.

The campus falls under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.

History

The original United States Veterans' Hospital No. 81 building

During the American Revolutionary War, the site of the medical center was the location of British '"Fort Number 6" (1777–1779). ^[4] During the 19th century, the land was part of the estate of Nathaniel Platt Bailey. ^{[1] [5]} The site then became the property of the Sisters of Charity of New York who turned it into the Bronx Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. ^{[6] [7] [8]} The hospital opened as United States Veterans' Hospital no. 81 on April 15, 1922. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

By the 1970s, the original hospital had deteriorated to the point that a Life magazine article was written about it. ^{[12] [13]} One of the hospital's patients during this time period was Ron Kovic, who described the hospital as having "deplorable conditions". ^{[14] [15]} The hospital was eventually rebuilt in the late 1970s. ^{[16] [17] [18]}

In 2002, the Bronx Veterans hospital was renamed after James J. Peters. ^[19] Peters, a US Army veteran and patient at the Bronx Veterans Hospital, founded several organizations to address the needs of patients with spinal cord injuries, including the United Spinal Association (originally known as the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association). ^[20]

Research

Research building is to the right

The hospital has been a center of medical research for decades. Ludwik Gross, who became the director of the Cancer Research Division, started his research at the hospital in 1944. ^[21] Beginning in the 1950s, Rosalyn Sussman Yalow and Solomon Berson conducted research into radioimmunoassay. The research culminated in Yalow receiving the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. ^[22] Her collaborator, Berson, who died in 1972, was not eligible for the prize (Nobel prizes are not awarded posthumously). ^[23] In 1966, James Cimino and Michael J. Brescia developed the Cimino-Brescia fistula. ^[24]

In 1985, a building dedicated to medical research was constructed and connected to the main building. ^{[25] [26]} The research building contains the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center, established due to the efforts of the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (now United Spinal Association) and its director James J. Peters. ^[27]

Personnel

Sterling and Yalow receiving Middleton Award 1973

• Rosalyn Sussman Yalow – Nobel laureate. Collaborated with Solomon Berson to develop radioimmunoassay. ^[28]
• Solomon Berson – Collaborated with Rosalyn Sussman Yalow to develop radioimmunoassay.

• Nicholas J. Cifarelli – Nephrology. Later pioneered the first Bioethics Advisory Committee in the United States.
• James Cimino – Developed the Cimino-Brescia fistula with Michael J. Brescia. ^[29]
• Paul R. Cunningham - Surgeon. Later dean of Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.
• Shimon Glick - Worked in the laboratory of Berson and Yalow. Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben Gurion University. ^[30]
• Ludwik Gross – Director of the Cancer Research Division. Isolated murine polyomavirus.
• Victor Herbert – Hematologist. Worked in the Nutrition Research Laboratory. Known for folate and megaloblastic anemia research.
• David B. Levine – Orthopaedic surgeon. Various positions at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
• Charles S. Lieber – Clinical nutritionist. Known for research into excess alcohol consumption and cirrhosis of the liver. ^[31]
• Giulio Maria Pasinetti – Director of the Translational Neuroscience Laboratories. Known for neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine.
• Jesse Roth – Insulin researcher.
• Kenneth Sterling – Director of the protein research laboratory. Later made significant discoveries on thyroid hormone activation. ^[32]
• Larry J. Siever – Psychiatrist known for his contributions to the study of personality disorders. ^[33]

Deaths of notable people

• Eric Burroughs – American stage and radio actor.
• Isaac Woodard – African-American World War II veteran and victim of racial violence.
• Timothy Wright – Grammy-nominated gospel singer and pastor. ^[34]

Boy's chapel at the Bronx VA Hospital

Looking up the University Heights hill from the Bronx shoreline

See also

• Veterans Health Administration
• United Spinal Association
• VA New York Harbor Healthcare System
• Ron Kovic – patient in 1968. ^[35] Author of Born on the Fourth of July
• Born on the Fourth of July – film based on Ron Kovic's autobiography

References

1. "Bailey Playground Highlights : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
2. "ACGME – Accreditation Data System (ADS) 1403531517 – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Bronx) Program". apps.acgme.org. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
3. "New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network". www.visn2.va.gov. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
4. "Numbered Forts in New York City". New York State Military History Museum. New York State Military History Museum. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
5. "New York City Revolutionary War Forts". North American Forts. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
6. Jenkins, Stephen (1912). The Story of the Bronx from the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the Present Day. G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp.  343–344. Retrieved January 30, 2018. roman catholic orphan asylum bronx.
7. Twomey, Bill; Casey, Thomas X. (2011). Northwest Bronx. Arcadia Publishing. p. 41. ISBN   9780738574660 . Retrieved January 30, 2018.
8. McAuley, Kathleen A.; Hermalyn, Gary (2010). The Bronx. Arcadia Publishing. p. 78. ISBN   9780738573151 . Retrieved January 30, 2018.
9. "Veterans' Hospital Opens in the Bronx – Archbishop Hayes and Group of Prominent Persons Attend Dedication Exercises – Beds Provided for 1,000 – Radio Consultation Conducted With Physician on Ship Seventy-Five Miles Away". New York Times . April 16, 1922. p. 23. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
10. "About the James J. Peters VA Medical Center". va.gov. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
11. "VA locations". va.gov. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
12. Childs, Charles; Rentmeester, Co (May 22, 1970). "Our Forgotten Wounded". Life magazine. pp. 24D – 34. Retrieved December 9, 2018– via Google Books.
13. Bohica (April 17, 2005). "Our Forgotten Wounded (graphic heavy)". Daily Kos. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
14. Scheer, Robert (February 19, 2016). "Ron Kovic and the Continuing Struggle for Veterans". KCRW. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
15. Lopez, Steve (November 8, 2014). "Forty years after 'Fourth of July,' Ron Kovic still speaking up against war". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 9, 2018.
16. Duddy, James (February 24, 1976). "Picket Kingsbridge for minority jobs". New York Daily News. p. ML7. Retrieved December 9, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
17. "Prox Raps VA over cost of Bronx building". New York Daily News. March 17, 1975. p. 24. Retrieved December 9, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
18. Lane, Robert (July 8, 1973). "Attack St. Albans' Beaching". New York Daily News. p. B2. Retrieved December 9, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
19. "Paid Notice: Deaths – Peters, James J." The New York Times. September 11, 2002. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
20. Bodner, Donald R; Murphy, Carolann (October 2009). "Pioneer in Advocacy: The Legacy of James J. Peters". The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. 32 (5): 501–502. doi:10.1080/10790268.2009.11754552. ISSN   1079-0268. PMC   2792456 . PMID   20025146.
21. Hays, Marguerite T. (2010). A Historical Look at the Department of Veterans Affairs Research and Development Program (PDF). Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Research and Development. p. 104. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
22. Gellene, Denise (June 1, 2011). "Rosalyn S. Yalow, 89, Nobel Physicist". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
23. "Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon A. Berson". Science History Institute. June 1, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
24. Brescia, Michael J.; Cimino, James E.; Appel, Kenneth; Hurwich, Baruch J. (November 17, 1966). "Chronic Hemodialysis Using Venipuncture and a Surgically Created Arteriovenous Fistula". New England Journal of Medicine. 275 (20): 1089–1092. doi:10.1056/NEJM196611172752002. ISSN   0028-4793. PMID   5923023.
25. "Bronx Veterans Medical Research Building". Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
26. Final Report of the VA Research Infrastructure Program (PDF). Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Research and Development. pp. (3-75)–(3-76). Retrieved February 18, 2022.
27. Moakley, Terence J. (2003). "Memorial - James J. Peters, 1945–2002" (PDF). Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development. 40 (1): iii–iv. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
28. Gellene, Denise (June 1, 2011). "Rosalyn S. Yalow, 89, Nobel Physicist". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
29. Brescia, Michael J.; Cimino, James E.; Appel, Kenneth; Hurwich, Baruch J. (November 17, 1966). "Chronic Hemodialysis Using Venipuncture and a Surgically Created Arteriovenous Fistula". New England Journal of Medicine. 275 (20): 1089–1092. doi:10.1056/NEJM196611172752002. ISSN   0028-4793. PMID   5923023.
30. "Western immigrants honored at Knesset award ceremony". The Times of Israel. May 15, 2014.
31. Altman, Lawrence K. (March 10, 2009). "Charles Lieber, Studied Alcohol as Toxin, Is Dead at 78". The New York Times . Retrieved March 11, 2009.
32. Saxon, Wolfgang (January 27, 1995). "Dr. Kenneth Sterling, Thyroid Specialist, 74, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
33. "Dr. Larry J. Siever MD". usnews.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022.
34. "PASSINGS". Los Angeles Times. April 27, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
35. Kovic, Ron (September 27, 2007). "Born on the Fourth of July: The Long Journey Home :: PEJ News". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2017. Most of them were not even born when I came home wounded to the Bronx V.A. (hospital) in 1968.

External links

• Official website
• VA New York Harbor Healthcare System
• New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network
• Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation