The Boston Medical Center is a multi-specialty referral institution that is the principal teaching hospital of Boston University School of Medicine and the Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry. It represents the merged Boston University Hospital (Boston Medical Center – Newton Pavilion) and Boston City Hospital (Boston Medical Center - Mennino Pavilion). Most of the hospital staff is based full-time at the Medical Center and the Chiefs of the various departments are also the Chairman of the corresponding departments at the Medical School. The Medical Center is located in Boston's historic South End, just minutes from the Southeast Expressway and the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Composed of two new buildings and 547 beds with state of the art facilities throughout, the Boston Medical Center has one of the newest and most streamlined physical plants in the country. A newly formed health care network which includes ten high-volume neighborhood health centers continues the Center’s historic roll as a provider of medical care for all in need. The strength of the merged relationship of our two hospitals is exemplified by the high quality of our training and our status as an ACS verified Level 1 Trauma Center with pediatric commitment. Boston Medical Center is the only Boston hospital to carry this designation. Boston Medical Center is committed to excellence in patient care, advanced clinical research and health-care education.

The Medical Center has been a leader in the field of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, having had a key role in the development of microscopic surgery in the larynx, in the first use of a laser to remove growths from the larynx and in the development of the world's first laser bronchoscope.

On the Newton Pavilion are special-care units such as the Voice Laboratory, the New England Spinal Cord Injury Center, Coronary Care and Intensive Care Units (medical and surgical); the Wald Neurological Unit and the oldest continuous Home Medical Service in America.

The Boston Medical Center's primary service area includes greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts; however, it receives referrals from throughout New England and the world. It has over 26,000 yearly admissions.

The Otolaryngology Department provides all diagnostic and medical and surgical services in the specialty. Particular strengths of the department include head and neck surgery, maxillofacial trauma surgery, cosmetic plastic surgery, and pediatric otolaryngology. Although all services are directly supervised by the full-time academic otolaryngologists, the "Chief Resident" is provided the opportunity to "manage the service".