Our History
125 Years of Caring in Michiana

South Bend Campus

1841 - The Sisters of the Holy Cross is founded in LeMans, France by Father Basil Anthony Moreau.

1843 - Sisters arrive in South Bend to assist with the establishment of a boy's school, presently the University of Notre Dame. Today, the motherhouse of the congregation is located at Saint Mary's College.

1861 - 80 of the Sisters respond to the government's call for Army nurses in the Civil War. Many become the first Navy nurses, serving aboard the ship Red Rover. Following the war, the Sisters respond to the needs of westward settlers and establish hospitals at various sites throughout the U.S.

1882 - Saint Joseph's hospital becomes the first institution in South Bend to care for the sick. In October of that year, the South Bend Evening Register reports that a significant portion of the facility is complete. The facility can accommodate approximately 35 patients. Staff includes directress and Civil War nurse veteran Sister Mary Edward, two other sisters and five volunteer physicians.

1903 - 100 beds are added.

1907 - A training school for nurses is established at the hospital - the first class includes nine students.

1922 - Another wing is added to the hospital, making the total bed count 171.

1958 - A third major expansion adds another 156 beds to the hospital.

1970s - New patient towers constructed.

1989 - New outpatient center built on to the front of the hospital.

Today

In 2008, our system consolidated when the Mishawaka Campus merged inpatient services with South Bend. This transition is in preparation for the move to our new, world-class $355 million hospital in Mishawaka, scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2009.

For 125, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center and its predecessors have served the healthcare needs of the greater South Bend region.

Our new facility will ensure that we continue to provide quality faith-based care for another 100 years and beyond.

Plymouth Campus

1910 - Dr. T.A. Borton and Dr. N.B. Aspinall build a three-story facility at 310 N. Michigan in Plymouth, Ind. The first two floors serve as a facility for the treatment of substance abuse and the third story serves as a general hospital.

During the same time period, local resident Julia Work, who conducts a home and school for dependent children just north of Plymouth, purchases six acres of land across from Centennial Park. She moves one of the frame cottages from her Children's Home in Brightside to the new site.

1914 - A partnership is formed when Aspinall moves his personal equipment into Works' cottage on North Michigan Street and opens the Aspinall Sanitarium and Hospital.

1921 - A group of concerned citizens form the Marshall County Hospital Association.

1926 - The Association purchases the small hospital building for $11,000.

1931 - The Association makes plans for a three-level brick addition to accommodate 20 additional beds. The first floor includes nine patient rooms and one six-bed ward, while the second floor includes seven private rooms, another six-bed ward and an operating room. The basement houses an emergency ward and storage rooms. Construction begins and the facility is renamed Parkview Hospital.

1935 - When the Depression makes it difficult to continue construction, the City of Plymouth steps in and issues bonds for the outstanding amount of the addition. During this time, it becomes clear that overseeing such a facility is too much for a voluntary association.

1941 - The hospital is donated to the Marshall County Board of Commissioners, with the request that another addition be built. Facility is renamed Marshall County Parkview Hospital.

1958 - Groundbreaking is held for a million-dollar facility addition. The 1914 wood structure is demolished and 65 beds are added - 25 surgical, 20 medical, 18 maternity and two for maximum-security patients.

1970 & 1976 - Expansions are made, increasing the bed count to 86.

1984 - An affiliation ceremony is held, establishing Parkview Hospital as a subsidiary of Saint Joseph's Care Group, Inc., a newly formed parent company that also includes Saint Joseph's in South Bend. The facility is renamed Holy Cross Parkview Hospital.

1986 - Hospital moves to a new facility in a new location, southwest of downtown Plymouth on S.R. 17. In the next 10 years, construction of new highways make the community more accessible, while the addition of new business to the area increases the community's work force.

1993 - The hospital is renamed once again to become Saint Joseph's Hospital of Marshall County.

Today

The Plymouth hospital is known as Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. The facility has expanded to include physician offices conveniently located on campus. Nearly every department has had some form of expansion or renovation, with several in the works.

Saint Joseph is proud to celebrate more than 20 years in the current facility and a long history of care in the community. SJRMC Plymouth provides many patients with the treatments they need, close to home. For years to come the community can expect to find the advanced care they need delivered with a personalized touch.

Trinity Health

Created by the consolidation of Holy Cross Health System and Mercy Health Services in 2000, Trinity Health blends and carries on two rich traditions of serving persons in need.