University of Washington Medical Center, Teaching hospital in University District, Seattle, United States

The University of Washington Medical Center is a large teaching hospital with multiple floors housing different medical departments and specialties. It serves patients from across the Pacific Northwest region and functions as both a clinical facility and a training ground for future physicians.

The University of Washington Medical Center opened on May 5, 1959, succeeding a medical center built in 1946 for university use. UW professor Belding H. Scribner, M.D., developed one of the first successful long-term kidney dialysis methods there, and the hospital also housed the world's first pain center. By 2013 it had 450 beds.

The center's name honors the University of Washington, whose School of Medicine uses the hospital for clinical training. In 2013 UW Medicine, which owns and operates the center, announced a strategic affiliation with PeaceHealth; the American Civil Liberties Union criticized the partnership because PeaceHealth follows the Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives.

The medical center sits in the Warren G. Magnuson Health Sciences Center in Seattle's University District, and the eight-story Montlake Tower added in 2012 brought capacity past 570 patient beds. UW Medicine owns and operates the hospital, which serves as a teaching hospital of the University of Washington School of Medicine.

A modern tower was added in 2012 that significantly expanded capacity and made this one of the largest medical complexes in the state. This expansion allowed the facility to treat many more patients than before.