The Saint Mary’s Hospital Collection consists of ninety-three ledgers of hospital information about patient admissions, patients of German heritage, births, surgical operations, intensive care unit patients, deaths, physicians in Cincinnati, Ohio, and information about a tuberculosis outbreak in New York, New York. The hospital was founded in 1858-1859 in Cincinnati, Ohio by the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.  The archives date from 1884 to 1977.

The ninety-three ledgers lists patient names, date of admittance, age, civil status, religion, birthplace, length of residency in the United States and in the City of Cincinnati, occupation, father’s name, mother’s surname prior to marriage, residence address, diagnosis, physician names, discharge date, location and the number of days in Saint Mary’s Hospital, and the patient’s condition upon discharge. The collection is arranged in thirteen series.

Series I.:  Patient admissions of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1880—1970. Twenty-nine ledgers.

Series II.:  German patient admissions of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1865—1879. Restricted due to fragility. Two ledgers.

Series III.:  Patient re-admissions of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1950—1960. Two ledgers.

Series IV.:  Delivery Room Births of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1942—1960. Five ledgers.

Series V.:  Surgical Operations of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1913—1966. Seventeen ledgers.

Series VI:  Intensive Care Unit Patients of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1976. One ledger.

Series VII.:  Recovery Room Patients of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1974. One ledger.

Series VIII.:  Patient Case Histories of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1898—1920. Three ledgers.

Series IX.:  Patient Deaths of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1880—1971. Ten ledgers.

Series X.:  Patient’s Physicians’ records of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1885—1922. Six ledgers.

Series XI.:  Doctor’s Books of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1947—1972. Nine ledgers.

Series XII.:  Patient Registry ledgers of the St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1940—1971. Seven ledgers.

Series XIII.:  Patients diagnosed with tuberculosis in New York, New York, 1959—1961. One ledger.

Saint Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati was a historic medical institution established on Betts and Linn Streets in 1858–1859 by the Sisters of the Poor of Saint Francis. Designed by architect Anthony Bley, the hospital served thousands of Cincinnati’s impoverished and German citizens. With a capacity of 325 hospital beds, Saint Mary’s Hospital treated over 2,000 patients each year. The hospital was enlarged in 1860 and again in 1875.

Saint Mary’s Hospital was well-known as an important facility for emergency cases and taking care of the medical needs of Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood. Saint Mary’s was supported by the contributions of the public and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The historic hospital closed on May 1, 1971. The Sisters of the Poor of Saint Francis also shaped other healthcare organizations in the Cincinnati region, including what is now Mercy Health. The Saint Mary’s Hospital Collection may be useful for research in genealogy and the social and medical history of Cincinnati in the late nineteenth century.

The Saint Mary’s Hospital Collection is available for research by appointment at the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions located in the Health Sciences Library on the University of Cincinnati east campus. https://findingaids.libraries.uc.edu/repositories/4/resources/1075