A look at the history of UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital

UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital opened in 1884. Here's a look at the history of the hospital, how it started and how the team members continue to provide exceptional care to the Cedar Rapids, Iowa community for over a century.

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Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:03

Unity Point Health. St Luke's Hospital has been a leader in health care since its formation as Cedar Rapids First Hospital in 1884. History tells us there were two instances the cries of an abandoned child needing medical care and the death of a homeless man injured while trying to jump aboard a freight train during a blizzard in the 1880s. That ultimately led to the construction of St Luke's. The Reverend Samuel Ringgold, a rector at Grace Episcopal Church, urged his faith community to raise money to build the hospital and on May 7th 1884, reverend Ringgold's vision became a reality. The cornerstone which resides today in our chapel was laid and on its first day St Luke's had the capacity to serve 15 patients. Grace Episcopal Church members continued their financial support for St Luke's, which sustained hospital operations during its first many years. According to a business directory dated in 1914, st Luke's featured the best equipped operating room west of New York City. It further reported that St Luke's was widely known for its achievements in surgical operations and excellence in its training school for nurses. In 1924, the medical staff organized and St Luke's was recognized as a standardized hospital by the American College of Surgeons. St Luke's is home to many medical firsts in cedar rapids the first C-section delivery, the first total joint replacement surgery and the first in ICU. We are also pioneers in heart care, with the first open heart surgery in cedar rapids at St Luke's in 1978, and the first heart stent procedure. St Luke's Heart and Vascular Center continues to lead the way in offering new procedures, technology and research. As it happens, st Luke's health care providers offer many programs and procedures large academic medical centers offer, with similar or better outcomes. While keeping patients close to home, st Luke's ER doctors are board certified in emergency medicine and specially trained nurses in emergency medical technicians provide the most immediate, appropriate care. St Luke's ER partners with the University of Iowa in training future ER doctors. Our hospital offers a wide range of services with additional strengths in obstetrics, neonatology, pediatrics, rehabilitation, behavioral health, general surgery, trauma care and senior services.

Speaker 0: 2:44

From its humble beginnings we are grateful for the foresight of cedar rapids leaders and residents who sacrificed and contributed to our hospital. One of those medical leaders was the late Dr Percy Harris. He was the first African American intern at St Luke's in 1957 who later on had his own medical practice and was Lynn County medical examiner for nearly 40 years. St Luke's has been honored throughout the years with national accolades such as Top 100 Hospital 100 Great Hospitals in America by Becker's Hospital Review and recognized as one of the nation's best regional hospitals by US News and World Report. St Luke's is also a magnet hospital for nursing excellence.

Speaker 0: 3:31

The Unity Point Health Cedar Rapids family includes over 200 physicians and other healthcare providers as part of Unity Point Clinic, jones Regional Medical Center, community-based skilled nursing care, home care and hospice, and Abbey Health, a mental health and aging services organization. Our reach extends beyond our cedar rapids community. In 1994, along with Iowa Methodists and Lutheran Hospitals in Des Moines, we were a founding member of the Iowa Health System, now known as Unity Point Health. We have hospitals and clinics across three states and over 30,000 team members. Our organization is committed to delivering the best outcome for every patient every time. We are proud to be part of the Cedar Rapids community and consider it a privilege to serve patients and family today and for many years to come.