The Decades of Union Hospital: Part 1

When an institution is as old as Union Hospital, it contains a lot of history. In the next few blogs, I will be exploring the growth and history of Terre Haute’s largest hospital.

1892: The Terre Haute Sanitarium was opened on 7^th and Scott Streets by Doctors Benjamin F. Swafford and Leo J. Weinstein. Weinstein dreamed up the idea of a second hospital in Terre Haute. Before the Sanitarium, the city’s only medical facility in was St. Anthony Hospital, which couldn’t accommodate the large population. In 1895, the medical facility was renamed Union Home for Invalids. The name signified collaboration between religious groups caring for the sick.

1900: Johanna Baur, head nurse for the hospital, organized the Training School for Nurses, which remained open until 1965. The school eventually served as a training ground for nursing students at Indiana State University.

1909: A $40,000 three-story brick structure replaced the original wooden structure. The new hospital boasted seventy-five beds and an operating room. A power plant was also constructed, with the upper two stories designated as housing for nurses. Many of the employees were not paid well, but were given room and board as compensation for low salary and long shifts. I can only imagine how exhausted a nurse would be in order to sleep with a power plant one floor below.

1922: Terre Haute was in the midst of its golden age. The hospital was admitting twice as many patients as it was in 1900. To properly accommodate the growing community, Union Hospital built another six floor addition.

After only 30 years, Union Hospital had already made its mark on Terre Haute. A modern facility, Union had proved it had staying power in the medical world. The Depression, World Wars, and influenza epidemic arriving in the coming decades would only prove their commitment to health and community.