In 1839, Dr. Alden March and Dr. James H. Armsby founded Albany Medical College in the former Lancaster School at the corner of Lancaster and Eagle Streets in the City of Albany. Albany Hospital was incorporated in 1849 and established two years later on the southwest corner of Dove Street and Lydius Street (now Madison Avenue). Physicians who taught in the medical school saw patients in the hospital, and students transitioned from lecture halls in the medical school to “shadowing” assignments on the floors of the hospital. The hospital, alongside Albany Medical College, established a radio station that took on the call letters
WAMC in 1958; citing financial burdens, the college/hospital sold the radio station in 1981 to an independent entity, and is the primary member station of
NPR for the Albany area. In April 2018, the nursing staff voted to unionize and voted to be represented by NYSNA.
Weapons incident On March 27, 2023, Albany Medical Center went into
lockdown after a man entered the hospital with both a BB gun and a shotgun. The man, Dino Savocca, 61, was visiting his mother when he barricaded himself in the hospital, triggering a
code silver and ordering all patients and staff to shelter in place. Savocca was apprehended hours later and arraigned the next day on charges of criminal possession of a weapon, kidnapping and menacing. While there were no casualties, hospital staff criticized the New York State Nurses Association for not seriously considering proposed safety measures.
Expansion In June 2025, the hospital announced plans for a $25 million emergency department expansion due to the current emergency department having some of the longest wait times in the nation. ==New York State Department of Health designations==