This point data layer shows the location of acute care hospitals in Massachusetts. Acute care hospitals are those licensed under MGL Chapter 111, section 51 and which contain a majority of medical-surgical, pediatric, obstetric, and maternity beds, as defined by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). The features in this layer are based on database information provided to MassGIS from the DPH, Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) and the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA). All hospitals that have a 24-hour emergency department are included, but not all facilities in this layer have an emergency department. This update records the level of trauma centers available at each facility. CHIA reviewed the data in November 2018.

"Specialty hospitals" are not included in this layer. Many can be found in the Non-acute Hospitals (HOSPITALS_NONACUTE_PT) layer.