Our Heritage
Our hospital began over 130 years ago, thanks to a determined group of local citizens who shared a vision to transform our city.
Our Beginning
In 1888, people in Cincinnati faced widespread unemployment, poverty, and hunger.
Determined to make a difference, a group of local citizens banded together. They were led by James Gamble, whose prospering soap business became Procter & Gamble.
The group invited Isabella Thoburn, a teacher, nurse, and missionary, to come to Cincinnati. She trained men and women working in the ministry about education and philanthropy to help transform lives and renew our city.
A Vision for Healthcare
Thoburn knew that transformation required the poor to receive high-quality healthcare. When she shared her vision with city leaders in 1889, they gave their full support.
James Gamble donated a private house in the city's West End, which Thoburn converted to become a 10-bed hospital, named Christ's Hospital.
Because the hospital became overcrowded four years later, city leaders moved it to the current site in Mount Auburn. In 1902, they added a nursing school, and in 1904, the hospital was renamed The Christ Hospital.
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