St. Mary’s Medical Center Celebrates 150 Years’ Service to San Francisco

St. Mary’s Medical Center, San Francisco’s longest continuously operating hospital, is celebrating its 150th anniversary of service to the Bay Area with a year of activities and observances for employees, physicians, volunteers and the general public. The program will be highlighted by a gala celebration September 8 at the Herbst Pavilion in Fort Mason with keynote speaker actress and model Lauren Hutton.

“Since 1857, St. Mary’s has always been here to care for the people of San Francisco and has served this city during its most critical times,” says President Ken Steele. “As a model of comprehensive, advanced health care and compassionate service, our rich history is an inspiration to us all.”

Established after the California Gold Rush by the Sisters of Mercy–a teaching-nursing-social services congregation and the largest English-speaking order of religious women in the United States–St. Mary’s was founded on a mission of caring for the poor and underserved. It has seen San Francisco through epidemics of cholera, smallpox and typhoid, as well as the 1906 earthquake, the AIDS epidemic and countless other health crises.

Through the years, the Sisters of Mercy expanded the concept of a medical institution serving the varied needs of the community. Out of the hospital base, the Sisters created a comprehensive network of services including community and prison outreach programs; refuges for battered women; homes for the frail and forgotten elderly; nursing schools, medical education programs; and a volunteer and auxiliary corps. As they saw the need, they also founded elementary, secondary and industrial schools.

St. Mary’s has been known for clinical and service innovation. In collaboration with its highly qualified medical staff, it:

Performed the first total hip replacement in California

Completed the first balloon angioplasty for coronary artery disease in the U.S.

Invented the X STOP device for minimally invasive treatment of painful spine conditions

Established the first School of Nursing in California

Created the first and only AIDS dementia unit in San Francisco

Founded the largest private medical clinic in San Francisco for the city’s needy and disenfranchised population

Provided the largest hospital clinical pastoral education program on the West Coast

Now more than 500 physicians strong, the hospital’s medical staff has a history of helping to establish some of today’s premier healthcare providers, including the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine and Stanford Medical School.

Today, as St. Mary’s enters its 150th year, the mission of Dignity, Collaboration, Justice, Stewardship and Excellence remains at the heart of its service to the community. The hospital operates one of the largest free medical clinics and HIV programs in San Francisco, second only to the county public health department. Last year alone, it provided nearly $18 million in charity care to the people of San Francisco.

About St. Mary’s Medical Center

For 150 years, St. Mary’s Medical Center has provided the Bay Area with compassionate, personalized care combined with the latest advances in medical care and cutting-edge technology.

St. Mary’s is a full-service acute care facility with more than 575 physicians and 1,100 employees who provide high-quality and affordable health care services to the Bay Area community. Home to advanced medical practices, such as the nation’s first digital cardiac catheterization laboratory, pioneering spine surgery and comprehensive rehabilitation, St. Mary’s Medical Center is one of San Francisco’s leading hospitals, offering patients a full range of outpatient and inpatient services delivered with the human touch.

Additional information is available online at www.stmarysmedicalcenter.org; for event information call (415) 750-5524.