Founded in December 1861 as the Samuel R. Smith Infirmary, the institution adopted its current name during the 1990s with the merger of Staten Island Hospital and the Richmond Memorial Hospital. SIUH maintains an academic affiliation with the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine and Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, whose medical students and residents complete a portion of their training at SIUH. SIUH also operates, in conjunction with Wagner College, a Physician Assistant training program and a Physician Assistant Fellowship in Emergency Medicine. SIUH is one of three hospitals in Staten Island and the only one that has an Emergency Medicine Residency. Dr. Gilbert Lederman became the director of SIUH's radiation oncology department, at age 34. During his tenure, he greatly expanded the department's capacity and installed state-of-the-art equipment, and, "In 1991, Lederman became the first doctor in New York to offer brain radiosurgery." He also aggressively promoted the new treatment, through media advertisements, interviews, presentations at the hospital, attended by "groups of grateful formal patients", and an international tour, comprising Lederman's travels to "Italy, England, Israel, and many other countries to speak to prospective patients and examine their CT scans on the spot." The hospital ultimately "started an International Patient Program and opened an office in Naples, Italy. Soon, sick people from all over the world were flying in. Even an ailing Beatle was willing to give the magic ray gun a shot. Lederman was summoned to the Harrisons’ Swiss villa to make his case for treatment." In November 2001, Harrison began radiotherapy at Staten Island University Hospital, in New York City, for non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to his brain. When the news was publicised, Harrison bemoaned his physician's breach of privacy, and his estate later claimed damages. Harrison's estate later complained that during a round of experimental radiotherapy at Staten Island University Hospital, the oncologist Dr. Gilbert Lederman repeatedly revealed Harrison's confidential medical information during television interviews and forced him to autograph a guitar.
The South Campus was originally the Richmond Memorial Hospital in Prince's Bay, Staten Island. It gained its current name when it merged with the Staten Island Hospital during the 1980s. It is located at 375 Seguine Avenue.
