United Hospital (Saint Paul, Minnesota).

Four separate hospitals were merged during the 1970s to create United Hospital: St. Luke's, Charles T. Miller, Riverview Memorial, and Children's. Brief descriptions of these institutions follow.

St. Luke's Hospital. One of St. Paul's oldest hospitals, St. Luke's was organized in 1855 by Episcopal minister John V. Van Ingen as the Christ Church Orphans' Home and Hospital. The hospital opened in January 1857; was incorporated in August 1857; and was managed by a "Board of Lady Managers." Financial problems closed the hospital in 1866, but in 1873 it reorganized as the Church Hospital and Orphans' Home, still under the auspices of the Episcopal Church, but with a lay board including Henry H. Sibley, William Dawson, and Alexander Cathcart.

The hospital had three successive locations: 96 West Fourth Street, 105 East Eighth Street, and finally a site at Smith Avenue and Sherman Street. In 1877 the name was changed to St. Luke's, and in 1920 it dropped its official affiliation with the Episcopal Church. Additions to the hospital were constructed in 1950-1952 and, in 1961, a revolutionary new "cloverleaf" design, consisting of three towers constructed around a single core, was constructed. This innovation was intended to provide better rapport between staff and patients. St. Luke's also pioneered many advanced medical procedures and medical technologies.

Charles T. Miller Hospital. In November 1916 seven St. Paul businessmen met to discuss the formation of a new hospital, originally the inspiration of St. Paul Business leader Charles T. Miller (1835-1910) and his wife Martha (1841-1915), and to be financed with a bequest of $200,000 from Martha Miller's will. A site was selected at the eastern end of Summit Avenue and Clarence H. Johnston was selected as architect.

Problems with financing the construction arose in 1917, caused by shortages of men and material during World War I. The hospital obtained government funds to use the hospital as a "zone hospital" for wounded soldiers, but these funds were withdrawn at the end of the war. The building was completed in November 1920, using the funds from the Miller bequest, originally intended for free bed service.

To finance and operate the hospital the Miller Hospital Clinic corporation was formed by eleven St. Paul physicians, with the Board of Trustees retaining control. These physicians formed the nucleus of the hospital staff.

The hospital was innovative in many aspects of health care including nursing, through the School for Nurses and the Cadet Nurse Corps (1943); intensified intern training; prepaid medical insurance, through the organization of the Minnesota Blue Cross Plan (1933) by hospital administrator Peter Ward; establishing psychiatric facilities (1949) and a licensed practical nursing program (1948); the organization of the Wilder Dispensary Clinic (1924); and the operation of one of the earliest hospital gift shops, which raised further funds for the hospital.

Medical costs rose during the 1960s and patient use declined, leading Miller to merge with St. Luke's in 1972. In the 1980s the old Miller Hospital was demolished and later became the site of the Minnesota History Center (1992).

Riverview Memorial Hospital. Riverview was founded in 1905 to serve St. Paul's West Side community by Dr. Herman Drecksler, who rented a three-story mansion and set up a three-bed hospital (West Side General Hospital). Dr. Drecksler, his family, and a few associates operated the hospital until 1910, when Drecksler moved from the state and the hospital closed. In 1913 the hospital was reopened under the aegis of the Evangelical and Reformed Church by Rev. John Baitinger and, under his leadership, the hospital expanded its activities, adding a south wing in 1927. In 1946 Baitinger died and the hospital closed again in 1948.

The West Side community gathered to support the closed hospital. The Riverview Commercial Club formed a hospital corporation to manage the institution, named a board of directors, reopened the hospital in January 1949 under the name Riverview Memorial, and added a new wing in 1964. Faced with shortages, high medical costs, and competition from nearby Divine Redeemer Hospital, Riverview merged with United Hospital in 1980.

United Hospital. Discussions of merger between Miller and St. Luke's began in the 1930s. A cooperative venture, the St. Paul Outpatient Center (SPOC) was formed in 1961 and included Miller, St. Joseph's, St. Luke's, and Children's hospitals. The Center, which used the Wilder Dispensary Clinic and was financed by the Wilder Foundation, closed in 1967. Miller purchased the clinic building and opened an outpatient department, which is still part of the United complex, operating as the Miller Outpatient Department (MOD) Clinic.

Miller, St. Joseph's, and Children's hospitals later formed a separate corporation, the Associated Capital Hospital, for joint purchasing of supplies and equipment. Although in operation for only a short time, this organization is considered a forerunner of United.

In June 1971 E.D. Rosenfeld Consultants issued a report proposing a four hospital medical center to be developed over a fifteen year period. This report became the foundation for the merger between Miller and St. Luke's in 1972.

At that time a number of issues hastened the merger process, among them rising medical costs, fewer patients, and construction of the 35E freeway system and other highways, which isolated the sites of Miller and Children's hospitals. In 1975 the older St. Luke's buildings (except for the cloverleaf towers) were demolished, and construction began on the new United additions, which included Miller, St. Luke's Riverview, and Children's components. The latter entity retained its corporate identity within the complex. The new United Hospital structure was completed in June 1980.

Historical information was taken from Nancy Johnston Hall and Mary Bround Smith, Traditions United: The History of St. Luke's and Charles T. Miller Hospitals and Their Service to St. Paul (1987).