Ascension Providence (formerly Providence Hospital) is a 349-bed high-rise

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

city of

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. The hospital tower was completed in 1987. The building sits at the center of a campus, it rises approximately and 11 stories. It was designed by noted American architect

Bertrand Goldberg Bertrand Goldberg (July 17, 1913 – October 8, 1997) was an American architect and industrial designer, best known for the Marina City complex in Chicago, Illinois, the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world at the time of complet ...

, best known for the

Marina City Marina City is a mixed-use residential-commercial building complex in Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America, designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg. The multi-building complex opened between 1963 and 1967 and occupies almost an entire ...

complex in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

History

Providence Hospital was founded in 1854 by the Daughters of Charity from

Emmitsburg, Maryland Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrima ...

. Mobile's first bishop,

Michael Portier Bishop Michael Portier (September 7, 1795, Montbrison, Loire, Montbrison, France – May 14, 1859, Mobile, Alabama) was a Roman Catholic bishop in the United States and the first Archdiocese of Mobile, Bishop of Mobile. He immigrated to the ...

, had asked the first four Sisters to come to Mobile in 1841 to care for orphans, following an outbreak of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

. By 1852 the Sisters were under contract to administer the City Hospital of Mobile. This ended in 1854 when they resigned from the hospital. Their resignation came during a period of high anti-

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

sentiment in the city, provoked by the local

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

political movement. A board of local citizens was formed on August 15, 1854 to build a new hospital for the Sisters. They completed a new 60-bed hospital in 1855 at the intersection of Broad and St. Anthony Streets. In 1902 the facility moved to a new

Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

structure on an Springhill Avenue campus. In 1904 they founded the second

school of nursing Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...

to be established in Alabama. By the late 1940s the old 100-bed structure had been outgrown and a new building, in front of the old, was started in February 1949. The new 250-bed

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

-style structure was completed by October 1952. That structure was also outgrown by the 1980s. The Sisters decided to move the hospital to a site on the western boundary of the city. Bertrand Goldberg, known for his innovative hospital designs, was hired to design the new $60-million facility. It would be one of the last major hospital complexes designed by his firm. By this time Goldberg had completed a number of other healthcare facilities and had refined his innovative "bed-cluster pod." The pod, with its groups of rooms encircling a central nurse's station, increased the ability of nurses to see and access patients easily. Construction on the reinforced concrete high-rise structure began in 1982 and accepted its first patients on July 15, 1987.

References

External links

Ascension Providence (Official website)
{{authority control Skyscrapers in Mobile, Alabama Hospitals in Alabama Bertrand Goldberg buildings Catholic hospitals in North America 1854 establishments in Alabama Hospital buildings completed in 1902 Hospital buildings completed in 1952 Hospital buildings completed in 1987 Skyscrapers in Alabama

History

See also

References

External links