Between 1892 and 1954, some 12 million immigrants to the United States passed through Ellis Island in New York Harbor. But a medical inspection upon their arrival could decide their fate — and many ended up spending time at the Ellis Island Hospital.
Those who arrived in America sick or injured were pulled from the inspection line, and thousands were sent to the hospital for treatment. But some were deemed too sick or disabled to continue on to the United States, and others simply couldn’t afford a hospital stay. As such, the Ellis Island Hospital could be a place of a heartbreak, as well as of healing.
This is the full story of the Ellis Island Hospital, the medical facility that once processed thousands of immigrants, but stands abandoned today.
The Medical Inspection at Ellis Island
Medical inspections began as soon as immigrants arrived at Ellis Island. As PBS reported in 2014, immigrants had to carry their bags from the dock where they’d arrived to the main building. If anyone stopped to catch their breath, inspectors pulled them from the line to check for heart disease…