For more than 100 years St. Joseph Health Services has
lived up to its promise: to heal, to care and to make a difference
in the lives of people.
A History of Caring and Healing
 St.
Joseph Hospital first opened its doors to the 'poor and suffering
sick of Rhode Island' on April 6, 1892 under the auspices
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.Its home was the
old Harris Estate along Broad Street between Peace and Plenty
Streets in an area then considered one of the wealthiest and
most fashionable neighborhoods in Providence. St. Joseph Hospital
became the eighth hospital in the United States to be run
by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, a religious
community then based in Philadelphia.
The three-story Harris mansion, purchased by Bishop Matthew
Harkins in August 1891, was filled to capacity soon after
its opening. Within months, plans were made and funds were
raised for a new 175-bed hospital building erected next door
by William Gilbane and Brothers, of Providence, on adjacent
land. Ground was broken in April 1893 and the cornerstone
was laid on July 1, 1893 in a celebration that drew a crowd
along Broad Street estimated at upwards of 50,000. James Cardinal
Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, was principal speaker
From 188 patients to 90,000
In its first year, the hospital spent $29,332 and treated
188 patients. Today, St. Joseph Health Services has more than
1,800 employees, a staff of 300 physicians and dentists, treats
more than 90,000 patients annually and has expenses of $114
million.
It has been a fascinating 100-year evolution for this hospital,
whose mission to help those in need has been strengthened
in the 1990's.
Within weeks of its opening in 1892, The Diocese of Providence
realized that the modest facility could not meet the demand
for its services. The Sisters could only accommodate one-tenth
of the people who came to their door seeking medical treatment.
In addition to its expansion next door, St. Joseph Hospital
opened its own School of Nursing. The first class graduated
in 1902, joining the hospital staff in meeting the community's
health care needs.
To meet an increasing demand for care of patients with tuberculosis,
the hospital in 1904 opened the state's first sanitarium on
its farm in the Hillsgrove section of Warwick, a facility
for the chronically ill that remained open for 50 years.
Growing Pains
 The
hospital again had 'growing pains' before the 1920's were
over. In 1929, construction began on a new West Wing of the
main building, providing additional facilities for medical
surgical patients. Six years later, an advanced program for
Rhode Island's crippled children was opened at the hospital.
Wherever and whenever there was a pressing community need,
St. Joseph Hospital responded. In 1938, it cared for many
people injured by the severe hurricane that battered New England
as well as victims of illnesses brought on by the disaster
that claimed more than 300 lives and caused $200 million in
damage.
When the United States entered World War II following the
bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, St. Joseph Hospital
offered its facilities to the armed forces. The Navy designated
the facility as a dependents' hospital to care for the wives
and children of Navy servicemen until adequate facilities
were made available a the Quonset Point Naval Air Station
and the Newport Naval Hospital.
Fatima joins the fold
 In
1954, the Diocese of Providence opened a new 175-bed facility,
Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, in North Providence. Initially
designed as a hospital for the chronically ill, it replaced
St. Joseph Hospital's Hillsgrove chronic care facility in
Warwick. Fatima became a general hospital in 1955 and expanded
in 1960 when 100 beds were added. Over the next three years,
the Harris Estate mansion was razed, along with the East Wing
the opened in 1893. They were replaced by the Bishop William
E. Stang Memorial Building in 1964.
By the end of the 1960s, the Diocese decided to merge St.
Joseph and Our Lady of Fatima Hospitals under a single administration
and identity. The shared facilities at the Fatima Unit in
North Providence and the Providence Unit on the original site
off Broad Street became the second-largest general hospital
in Rhode Island.
The hospital today is a non-profit, general acute care facility
operating under the patronage of the Diocese of Providence.
It offers treatment in 28 medical surgical specialties and
has a nationally recognized Ambulatory Care Center and 24-hour
Emergency Care Center.
In addition to operating the state's only hospital-based
school of nursing, it also runs schools of medical technology,
cyto-technology and histo-technology.
Entering a new century
As St. Joseph Hospital prepares to enter its second century
of service, it is going through a rebirth as a result of a
three-year restructuring program that began in November 1990.
All acute medical and surgical, coronary intensive care and
emergency services are being consolidated at the Fatima Unit
in North Providence, which will become a center of clinical
excellence offering the most advanced medical instrumentation
and clinical technologies available.
The Providence Unit has been transformed into a regional
specialty hospital for rehabilitation and psychiatric services.
It is also home to our inner-city primary care center, The
Center for Health and Human Services.
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