A History of St. Luke's Hospital
There's been a lot of history made at St. Luke's Hospital. This timeline highlights the significant milestones in the hospital's history.
1883
"New Bedford must have a hospital," stated Miss Anna M. Lumbard, a New Bedford philanthropist.
1884
St. Luke's Hospital first opened in a 2 1/2 story house at 81 4th Street (now Purchase Street) with 11 beds and admitted 62 patients in its first year.
1885
The St. Luke's Training School for Nurses graduated its first class of three nurses.
1891
The electric light was introduced into the hospital.
1896
A new hospital, consisting of four buildings, opened at Page and Allen streets.
1902
An additional 20-bed capacity hospital building was constructed.
1907
The White Home for Nurses opened with the ability to house 44 nurses.
1908
The Surgery Department expanded to include three operating rooms.
1910
St. Luke's purchased the New Bedford Orphans Home on Taber Street for use as a ward for women and children and accommodations for nurses. The building was named Lumbard House after Anna M. Lumbard, a major force in the establishment of St. Luke's.
1914
The Rogers Ward was named in memory of its donor, Henry Huttleston Rogers, who
preferred to remain anonymous during his lifetime.
1916
A new 45-bed maternity ward opened and was named for its donor, Mrs. Gertrude S. Schultz.
X-ray equipment was introduced at the hospital.
1918
The White Home added a new wing to accommodate an additional 23 nurses.
St. Luke's Hospital became a member of the National Hospital Association.
1921
The Outpatient Department opened, logging 8,263 patient visits during its first year.
1926
Another addition to the White Home was created to accommodate 32 more nurses.
The 65-bed Lumbard Ward for children opened, replacing Lumbard House.
1928
St. Luke's first cancer clinic opened.
The Outpatient Department reported 26,996 patient visits.
1930
A new outpatient building opened through a gift by Miss Ellen R. Hathaway. The
building was dedicated to Mrs. Ellen Rodman Hathaway, the donor's mother.
St. Luke's Hospital acquired an "iron lung" at a cost of $2,000 — the 26th device of its kind in use in the U.S.
1931
Hathaway's second floor (private ward) closed due to lack of private paying patients. The high demand for free "ward" beds reflected the financial status of the community.
1934
Number of employees at St. Luke's rose to 192; salaries totaled $169,000 annually.
1937
Massachusetts Department of Public Health designated St. Luke's Hospital a center for premature infant care.
St. Luke's joined the Associated Hospital Service Corporation of Massachusetts, a forerunner of hospital insurance, which provided hospital care to patients for only a few cents per day.
1938
Outpatient Department reported more than 40,000 patient visits.
1940
St. Luke's established a unit of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps to train 107 nurses as war approached.
1943
Twenty of St. Luke's 56 physicians and nearly 100 nurses entered the armed services.
The hospital was aided by volunteers and some private wards were temporarily closed.
1945
Volunteers provided 32,820 hours of service in this year alone.
1947
The hospital's operational costs surpassed $1 million for the first time.
1950
Length-of-stay (LOS) continued to drop due to advances in medical treatment. LOS was 8.8 in 1949 and 8.0 in 1950.
The Women's Auxiliary of St. Luke's Hospital was established, integrating the activities of several volunteer groups.
1951
Groundbreaking for largest addition to St. Luke's to date took place on January 4. St. Luke's received a bequest of $1.2 million from the will of Mrs. H. Sylvia A.H.G. Wilks of New York.
1953
The Memorial Building opened, completing the hospital's largest expansion to date.
St. Luke's provided nearly $200,000 in free care.
1955
Oliver Prescott Jr. was elected president of the Board of Trustees and served in that role for 14 years.
1958
The Physical Therapy and Volunteer Service departments were established.
1959
St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing earned accreditation by National League for Nursing.
Employee Health Service was established.
1963
Plans were approved for construction of a new four-story hospital building.
1964
A stroke program was established, co-sponsored by St. Luke's and the American Heart Association. It was the only such program in a U.S. community hospital.
1965
Demolition of old buildings began in preparation for a new, centralized building.
1966
Federal Medicare program became effective.
St. Luke's opened a small Intensive Care Unit.
1968
The Amelia H. Jones Building was dedicated.
1972
The New Bedford Visiting Nurse Association became a department of St. Luke's Hospital.
The Community Services Department was established to shorten hospital stays and lower the cost of illness by utilizing relevant community services and ensuring continuity of care.
1973
The Ambulatory Care Unit was established.
1975
St. Luke's School of Nursing closed after graduating 1,795 nurses since its inception.
1979
St. Luke's became the first hospital in Massachusetts to offer CT scanning technology.
1983
New Critical Care and Intensive Care units opened, serving almost 1,500 patients in their first year.
1984
The Century Building opened.
New SurgiCenter, Emergency Department and maternity suite opened.
St. Luke's was now a 433-bed facility.
One personal computer was in use; the number increased to 260 by 1993.
1986
Hospital purchased new mammography equipment valued at $85,000.
A satellite communications network was installed, allowing teleconferencing between St. Luke's Hospital and medical centers around the world.
1987
St. Luke's acquired Parkwood Hospital.
St. Luke's Hospital reported 17,853 admissions.
1991
The first cardiac catheterization lab opened — more than 500 patients utilized this service in its first year.
Laser surgical technology came to St. Luke's with new equipment donated by the auxiliary.
Three new labor/delivery/recovery rooms were designed by maternity staff and constructed by the hospital's Maintenance Department.
St. Luke's reported as having the third busiest ER in Massachusetts.
The hospital had more than 2,000 employees, 400 volunteers and 200 active physicians and dentists; the average LOS was 6.6 days
1993
Remote access to hospital e-mail system was instituted. President John B. Day was first to access the system from his PC at home.
1994
Operating rooms were expanded.
1995
New lobby and outpatient services area were completed, including new Admitting and Outpatient Rehabilitation areas.
1996
St. Luke's merged with Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and Tobey Hospital in Wareham to become Southcoast Hospitals Group.
St. Luke's Emergency Department handled more than 65,000 visits per year
The Level II nursery opened.
1997
Operating room expansion added four state-of-the-art ORs.
Surgery Center and Center for Women's Health opened at Faunce Corner in North Dartmouth.
St. Luke's Hospital honored as a Top 100 Hospital in the U.S.
Outpatient Rehab Center and The Oncology Center opened at Hawthorn Place in North Dartmouth.
2000
The hospital expanded ICU beds and created eight-bed Surgical ICU.
2001
St. Luke's opened a Heart Center with advanced cardiac services.
2002
St. Luke's ED was expanded and opened rapid treatment area.
2003
St. Luke's ED logged 72,500 patient visits.
2004
St. Luke's embarks upon a $32 million construction project that further expands the ED, adds two surgery suites and increases inpatient beds.
2007
The New St. Luke's opens.
