 Clasen's only conditions for the money were that the new institution would be named Stamford Hospital, be nonsectarian and not discriminate in receiving patients.Subsequently, the hospital opened with 30 beds on May 7, 1896 in a mansion on East Main Street, just west of the railroad bridge.Edgar L. Geibel, chief administrator of the hospital from 1954-1977, oversaw significant change and growth of the hospital, specifically from 1966–1969, with the construction of the hospital's signature white pavilion wing designed by Perkins & Will.