History

With a history spanning more than 130 years, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare (JHSMH) has a presence in 41 counties in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, providing a wide array of world class health care services to our community. We believe that nobody does it better.

Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital and Our Lady of Peace, both founded by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, were established to meet the needs of the poor and underserved through the philanthropic support of dedicated volunteers. Thanks to benefactor William Caldwell, Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital opened at its original location at 12th and Magnolia Streets in 1874. It relocated to the South End in 1958 and has become the health care hub for people living in this area of Louisville. Since Our Lady of Peace opened in 1954 through a dramatic community fund drive to provide better care to those with mental illness, the hospital has earned a reputation as a national leader in psychiatry. While it still serves patients of all ages, it has emerged as a center of excellence in pediatric mental health.

Jewish Hospital’s rich history began on a cold night in February 1903 when a group of prominent Jewish businessmen pledged to found a hospital to care for poor immigrant Jews. Their mission was to create a non-sectarian institution that would treat both paying and non-paying members of all religious sects and provide a setting where Jewish physicians could practice medicine, pursue research and treat patients. Two years later, Jewish Hospital opened and was declared the best-equipped hospital in the south by local media.

Since their founding and historic merger in 2005, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare has been setting the standard in medical excellence for this region, gaining national and international recognition for a wide range of medical firsts. For example, 2006 was the second consecutive year Jewish Hospital was ranked as a “Best Hospital” by U.S. News & World Report for Respiratory Disorders and Heart & Heart Surgery. Our Lady of Peace has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a national model for excellence and innovation in the treatment of children with developmental disabilities. And last year, VNA Nazareth Home Health made more than 250,000 house calls, serving more patients than ever before in its history.

Our health care legacy now spans the full spectrum to meet a vast range of medical needs in the communities we serve. From surgery and diagnostics to rehabilitation, from home care to mental health, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare’s dedicated team is making a difference in the lives of the patients we serve. 

As in the beginning, generous donors continue to perpetuate this legacy of caring with charitable gifts. The Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation is the catalyst for this support, collecting contributions to sustain and grow what has become one of the premier health care organizations in the region.

Make your annual gift to the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Foundation