The College is one of the oldest and largest private health science institution in the United States. New York Medical College was chartered on April 12, 1860, in New York City. Through the efforts of its founders, including William Cullen Bryant, the noted poet and statesman, the College established its first home in a building situated at the corner of Third Avenue and East 20th Street where it opened classes with seven faculty, 59 students and a dean. Today New York Medical College consists of the School of Medicine, the School of Health Sciences and Practice, and the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences.
The College grew and expanded over the years. In 1889, the College constructed the first teaching hospital to be owned by a medical college, the Flower Free Surgical Hospital. There were several subsequent relocations within New York City. In 1968, the College, at the invitation of Westchester County, began plans for developing its present campus in Valhalla, New York. The move started in 1971 was completed in 1978 and it was at this time in its history that the College began its relationship with the Archdiocese of New York. Concurrently, the College released ownership with its [then] teaching hospital, Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals. The facility was eventually converted to a long-term care institution under the auspices of the Archdiocese of New York as Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center (TCC), which means a clinical affiliate to this day.
Despite the relocation of its main campus to Westchester County, the College has maintained a strong presence in New York City through its network of clinical affiliates. With its move to Westchester, the College has greatly expanded the region it serves to include suburban and semi-rural areas of the mid-Hudson Valley and southern Fairfield County in Connecticut. Among the College's clinical affiliates is Westchester Medical Center, an academic medical center with whom the College shares its Valhalla campus.