The Buffalo General Hospital School of Nursing, the second oldest school for nurses in the United States, was organized in 1877. Two prominent women of the region, president and vice- president of the Ladies' Hospital Association, Mrs. John B. Skinner and Mr. Thomas F. Rochester, planned to establish a new order of nursing school. Mrs. Sarah Grey from the Bellevue Hospital in New York City was hired to be the first year superintendent of nurses, and five student nurses were enrolled for a two-year program. Admission into the Nursing School was modeled after the Training School at St. Thomas Hospital (now called Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery) in London, England, which was developed by Florence Nightingale.

During World War II, the federal government established the Cadet Nurse Corps within the Public Health Service to meet a tremendous shortage of nurses. Many nursing schools across the nation were informed and invited to join the Corps. From Buffalo General Hospital School of Nursing, 2999 nursing students were supported by the federal government and 229 of them joined in the Cadet Corps. Applicants must have been graduates of an accredited high school or recipients of a general education diploma. The admission requirements for the program were at least 16 units with a minimum of 10 units in academic subjects, two years of a foreign language, one unit in biology or general science, and chemistry, elementary algebra, geometry, and intermediate algebra. In addition, sufficient English and History credits were required for entrance into nursing school.

In 1944, the nursing school started a three-year program; freshmen attended the State University of New York at Buffalo for nine months and were allowed to take additional courses at UB during their second and third years. Meanwhile, they were required to experience surgical, medical and obstetrical nursing for nine weeks in Pediatric Nursing at Children's Hospital, and three months of Psychiatric Nursing at Buffalo State Hospital as well as six weeks of experience in other community agencies. In the third year, leadership and advanced medical nursing courses were required to complete their program.

The school was registered with the State of New York and accredited by the National League for Nursing which permits its graduates (who maintain grades above 75%) to take State Board Examinations in order to become registered professional nurses. After registration, graduates become members of the American Nurses' Association and are entitled to use the official R.N. (registered nurse).

After having produced a large number of qualified nurses, the school closed in 1987.

In the 23 years from the founding of the training school for nurses in 1877, the Buffalo General Hospital Training School for Nurses graduated 224 nurses. On June 14, 1900, Miss Margaret Simpson, class of 1892, formed the Alumnae Association and registered 34 charter members. The Officers were elected for the year and a committee appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws. At a second meeting in September, 1900, the constitution and by-laws were revised, approved, and accepted. Membership was open only to those holding a diploma from The Buffalo General Hospital School of Nursing.

Following the model of a famous hospital and nurse training center that was first instituted in Kaiserwerth, Germany, the German Deaconess Hospital was established on 27 Goodrich Street, Buffalo, 1895. The objectives of the hospital were to establish a home to train women to be deaconesses who would care for the poor, sick and young people. Rev. Carl L. Schild, who helped establish the hospital, took on the office of director between 1895 and 1899. In 1908, the hospital established a School of Nursing.

Even though the Deaconess Hospital had financial problems from the beginning, they became the second-biggest hospital in Buffalo. The local German community helped raise money for a new building, successfully collecting $125,000. In August 1912, construction was completed. The hospital's capacity increased from 337 beds to 425 beds and 44 bassinets. With a $7.5 million investment in 1962, it expanded its range of service to include such treatments as hemodialysis, angiology and radiation therapy.

In 1983, the German Deaconess Hospital went bankrupt and some portions of the hospital merged with Buffalo General Hospital.