Inspired by the cholera epidemic of 1849, the Jews of Cincinnati, Ohio established the Jewish Hospital at the corners of Bauer and Central Avenue. Their hospital was one among three Jewish hospitals launched in the 19th century in the United States, which included Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, New York and Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana.  These hospitals were established to assist the indigent poor, protect Jewish patients against discrimination and to insure the observance of Jewish traditions at the time of a patient’s death.