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On behalf of the St Vincent Health System and Catholic Health Initiatives community it is a pleasure to welcome you

Weve truly come a long way from a small 10 bed charity hospital started by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth as Little Rocks first hospital in 1888 Today more than 120 years later we now offer stateoftheart critical and emergency care in a brand new facility at St Vincent Infirmary as well as futuristic robotic surgery We deliver babies in a completely renovated Center for Women and Children Specialists in cardiovascular neurosurgical oncology orthopaedic general surgical and urology services provide comprehensive care to patients from Central Arkansas the surrounding region and literally throughout the world

Despite the rapidly changing world around us our mission and values are enduring Our mission is to nurture the healing ministry of Jesus Christ and bring it new life energy and viability in this 21st century Our core values Reverence Integrity Compassion and Excellence guide how we do our work each and every day from care at the bedside to services in our physician clinics to the business relationships we develop

Were hard at work transforming health care for you and the communities we serve Weve created new and unique care for baby boomers and their parents in our Longevity Center We have a strong partnership with Walmart that aims to deliver affordable and accessible care close to your home Were developing our next phase of growth with St Vincent West a health and wellness destination right in the heart of West Little Rock

My personal pledge to you is that the entire staff of St Vincent Health System St Vincent Infirmary St Vincent North St Anthonys Medical Center St Vincent West St Vincent Medical Group and our other points of access throughout Central Arkansas will do everything we can to earn your trust and work hard to care for all of your needs body mind and spirit Whether youre our patient for a routine medical procedure expecting a new addition to your family or are experiencing a difficult time because of a serious illness or injury you can expect to receive personcentered care at St Vincent

Please browse this site to find out more about St Vincent and the comprehensive accessible services that we provide for you I also invite you to give us the opportunity to respond to your particular needs with credible health information a clinical referral or simply with the reassurance that comes with knowing our deep commitment to a health ministry built on more than a century of service

Mission and History
quotOur basic philosophy the patient comes firstquot
Sister Michaella Duke
The mission of St Vincent Health System and Catholic Health Initiatives CHI is to nurture the healing ministry of the Church by bringing it new life energy and viability in the 21st Century

Fidelity to the Gospel urges us to emphasize human dignity and social justice as we move toward the creation of healthier communities

OUR VALUES

Reverence Profound respect and awe for all of creation the foundation that shapes spirituality our relationships with others and our journey to God

Integrity Moral wholeness soundness fidelity trust truthfulness in all we do

Compassion Solidarity with one another capacity to enter into anothers joy and sorrow

Excellence Preeminent performance becoming the benchmark putting forth our personal and professional best

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History

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St Vincent has embodied a spirit of charity love of the poor and a sincere desire to end suffering from its inception as quotThe Charity Hospitalquot in 1888 to the current era of managed care and rapid change in health care


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St Vincent owes its existence to an epidemic that did not occur In 1878 yellow fever was ravaging the South and was as near a Memphis It seemed only a matter of weeks maybe days before the fever would strike Little Rock which had few physicians and no hospital service at that time Many including Mr and Mrs Alexander Hager believed only an act of God would stop the plague The Hagers two of the citys wealthier residents vowed to God that if Little Rock was spared they would in gratitude provide the funds to build a hospital Miraculously the yellow fever outbreak did not affect Little Rock and the Hagers kept their vow

In 1888 Mother General Cleophas leader of the religious community with five Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Kentucky arrived at the Little Rock train station on the slow moving Iron Mountain Railroad Sisters Mary James Cornelia Mechtildes Mary Sebastian and Hortense were invited to Little Rock by the Most Rev Edward Fitzgerald Bishop of the Little Rock Diocese A 10bed Charity Hospital was founded on East Second Street by the Hagers estate and with the support of Little Rock financier Edward Parker and others It was the first hospital outside the boundaries of Kentucky which the Sisters of Charity would operate

The Arkansas Gazette reported that seven physicians were involved in the initial planning of the hospital R B Christian R G Jennings J A Dibrell Edwin Bentley William E Green Claiborne Watkins and E D Avers

quotThe people of this City have taken a just pride Contributions of ice meat furniture groceries and clothing have been quite liberal in the past and will no doubt continue in the future Owing to the general appreciation of the public immediate steps are being taken to enlarge the capacity of the buildingsquot Arkansas Gazette March 1889

In 1889 Bishop Fitzgerald changed the name of the hospital from Charity Hospital to the Little Rock Infirmary The original desire of Bishop Fitzgerald and the Sisters of Charity was to name the hospital St Vincent Infirmary in honor of St Vincent de Paul a French priest who compassionately cared for the sick and the poor

As the 20th Century began and America entered its age of technology the hospital now called St Vincent Infirmary moved from its second location on Center Street to a threestory 50bed hospital at 10th and High Streets In addition to being necessary to meet the growing demand for patient care the move was a major step toward eliminating the stereotype of hospitals being only the last resort for the sick and dying

The Sisters wrote quotAfter many tribulations we took possession in September 1900 We moved all the furniture and 36 railroad patientsquot

The expansion provided the space for the longawaited St Vincent Infirmary School of Nursing which opened in 1906 as Arkansas first nursing school The first class seven students graduated in 1909 Until then the Sisters served as St Vincent only as nurses The school of nursing which operated for 63 years until 1969 graduating 1431 nurses was reestablished in 2001 as the School of Practical Nursing LPN

Fifty beds were only sufficient until 1910 when a 100bed annex was added to the Infirmary

In March of 1920 St Vincent became one of the first 12 hospitals in the United States to install Xray apparatus and the Department of Roentgenology was formed The fledgling department was the ancestor of the Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Departments of the late 1970s and paved the way for such current advances as Vertebroplasty R2 Image Checker and Positron Emission Tomography PET Fusion

In 1920 the Medical Staff at St Vincent which had grown to 16 physicians was officially organized in accordance with the American College of Surgeons The medical staff would grow to about 140 active staff by 1954 and to approximately 865 active senior active and associate staff members by 2002 Also in 1920 St Vincent became the first hospital in the state to be certified by the American College of Surgeons Years later this organization developed into the healthcare accreditation organization now known as The Joint Commission

In 1938 the Sisters celebrated their Golden Jubilee 50th anniversary in Little Rock by opening a maternity annex Thousands of babies were born at the 10th and High Street location The 60bed maternity wing would also become the foundation for the states first Intensive Care Nursery in 1972 St Vincent would enter a 16 year hiatus before resuming obstetrics in 1992

Weathering Disease Storms

The Sisters weathered considerably adversity throughout their early years in Little Rock

In the early 1900s they faced smallpox quotDuring the time we lived on Center Street which was nearly two years one of the doctors sent in a patient suffering with smallpox He was with us three or four days before we knew what was the matter He was sent to the pest house and we were quarantined nine or ten daysquot First Days in Little Rock

Disease returned in even greater measure in 1949 when St Vincent was confronted with one of Arkansas worst outbreaks of polio patients

In March of 1952 tornadoes lashed the area and a stream of injured turned toward 10th and High Streets The Arkansas Gazette reported that 87 wounded were admitted stating quotPart of the maternity ward was turned into an operating room and the hospital was crowded with hundreds of blood donors Beds were even placed in the halls of the maternity buildingquot

Members of the community had always supported St Vincent with volunteer efforts In the early days they were known as the St Vincent Infirmary Volunteer Society In 1953 volunteer efforts at the hospital were formally organized as the Ladys Auxiliary at St Vincent This dedicated group of volunteers now called St Vincent Auxiliary would become on of the largest in the state

Once again the seeds of expansion were planted or perhaps transplanted The Little Rock Diocese which had managed and owned the hospital since its early beginnings set the course for the future of St Vincent

First Bishop Albert L Fletcher authorized the purchase of 40 acres of property at Hayes now University and Markham Streets

Second the Diocese gave ownership of the hospital to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
The former move was not universally viewed with in favor Monsignor John Scheper who was an advocate of both decisions recalled that Sister Mary Patrice a firstfloor supervisor was not pleased with the new location quotSister Mary Patrice balled me out She said We wont have any patients Nobody will come I said Sister in five years youll be in the middle of town Mnsgr Scheper Arkansas Catholic 1988

Monsignor Scheper said deeding the hospital to the SCNs was a logical move for the Diocese which was weary of the decisionmaking required for the operation of such a busy hospital The Sisters he says were quotvery devoted to the care of the sickquot and they were quotin controlquot of the hospital quotThey knew everything and they were always on hand when somebody needed somethingquot Arkansas Catholic 1988 In December of 1954 St Vincent made its fourth move to new quarters The Sisters opened the current ninestory hospital at Hayes now University and Markham The new building had 312 beds and plans were made for additional expansion

Only the size not the philosophy had changed Sister Michaella Duke who was the administrator at the time sent a letter to hospital employees emphasizing a code of conduct quotBe courteous at all times greeting everyone with a smile Be prompt never give way to impatience and annoyance Manifest a spirit of real interest and cooperation in your work Bear in mind the reputation of St Vincent Infirmary depends upon your efficient servicequot She punctuated the letter with quotOur basic philosophy the patient comes firstquot