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.
The Saint Mary’s Hospital Collection consists of 93 ledgers of hospital information about patient admissions, patients of German heritage, births, surgical operations, intensive care unit patients, deaths, physicians in Cincinnati, Ohio and information about a tuberculosis outbreak in New York City. The hospital was founded in 1858-1859 in Cincinnati, Ohio by the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.
St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati was a historic medical institution established in 1858–1859 by the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis on Betts and Linn Streets. Designed by architect Anthony Bley, the hospital served thousands of Cincinnati’s impoverished and German citizens. With a capacity of 325 hospital beds, St. Mary’s Hospital treated over 2,000 patients each year. The hospital was enlarged in 1860 and again in 1875. It was well-known as an important facility for emergency cases and taking care of the medical needs of Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood. St. Mary’s was supported by the contributions of the public and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The historic hospital closed on May 1, 1971. The Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis also shaped other healthcare organizations in the Cincinnati region, including what is now Mercy Health. The St. Mary’s Hospital Collection may be useful for research in genealogy and the social and medical history of Cincinnati in the late 19th century.
