What is the hospital in Grey's Anatomy called?
Quick answer
In the first season of Grey’s Anatomy, the hospital is Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington. It later merged and became Seattle Grace Mercy West, and was then renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in honor of Lexie Grey and Mark Sloan.
Grey’s Anatomy, created by Shonda Rhimes, premiered on ABC in March 2005. It follows Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) from surgical intern to chief of general surgery, and it’s one of the longest-running prime-time dramas in US history.
The hospital’s names
| Name | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Grace Hospital | Seasons 1–6 | The original name |
| Seattle Grace Mercy West | Seasons 6–8 | After merging with Mercy West hospital |
| Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital | Season 9 onward | Renamed after Dr. Lexie Grey and Dr. Mark Sloan, who died after a plane crash in the season 8 finale |
Is the hospital real?
It isn’t. Most hospital scenes were filmed on sets in Los Angeles. The exterior shots often show the Fisher Plaza building in Seattle, and the show sometimes used a former Los Angeles hospital for filming.
Key characters
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Meredith Grey | Ellen Pompeo |
| Derek Shepherd | Patrick Dempsey |
| Cristina Yang | Sandra Oh |
| Miranda Bailey | Chandra Wilson |
| Richard Webber | James Pickens Jr. |
Where the title comes from
The name is a pun on Gray’s Anatomy, a famous medical textbook first published in 1858 by English surgeon Henry Gray, which is still used today.
Spin-offs
- Private Practice (2007–2013)
- Station 19 (2018–2024), about Seattle firefighters
TV medicine isn’t real medicine, but real anatomy is fascinating; see the smallest bone in the human body and the main artery in the body.
Still curious?
Jump to a random question from the archive.