Our Founder’s Legacy

In 1851, Bishop Amadeus Rappe, the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, petitioned the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine to help create a Catholic hospital for the 17,000 residents of Cleveland. Two Sisters of Charity and two young postulants (sisters-in-training) sailed across the Atlantic in September 1851, and became Cleveland’s first public healthcare workers. They immediately got to work, visiting the sick in their homes. Because the Sisters wore white garments (habits) and their care was so needed, they came to be known as “angels.”

St. John Hospital, established in 1890, was one of the first hospitals on Cleveland's west side. The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine assumed administration of St. John in 1916, and a new building was constructed that same year. In 1981, UH St. John Medical Center opened, the result of a merger between St. John Hospital in Cleveland and Bay View Osteopathic General Hospital in Bay Village. UH St. John Medical Center was co-owned by University Hospitals and the Sisters of Charity Health System from 1999 until 2015, when the UH health system assumed sole ownership of the hospital.

Throughout its history, UH St. John Medical Center has remained committed to its faith-based mission and provision of excellence in patient care. We treat all patients from every faith and walk of life with the highest regard.