“UofL Hospital transformed heath care in Louisville, the state and the region,” said Tom Miller, UofL Health CEO. “We honor the compassionate clinicians and civic leaders who founded this hospital to take care of those most in need, and we celebrate all those who followed, including the more than 13,000 who proudly continue the mission today.”

The first patients were admitted in 1823 to the facility then known as Louisville Marine Hospital at the corner of Preston and Chestnut Streets, just a few blocks from the current hospital location. The original mission was to care for ill and injured riverboat crew members abandoned at Louisville’s busy wharf. Patients were often immigrants with a wide variety of backgrounds, ethnicities and countries of origin. Hospital care was extended to include others that could not be treated in their homes, which was common practice at the time.

“Two hundred years in the heart of Louisville’s downtown community represents generations of families from every neighborhood impacted by UofL Hospital,” said Ken Marshall, UofL Health chief operating officer. “I’ve been honored to witness the last 28 years. I’ve seen innovative medicine result in medical miracles. But, even more importantly, I’ve seen the passion our nurses, physicians and allied health workers bring to their patients every day.”

Today, UofL Hospital is the region’s only����for adults, additionally recognized for stroke, burn, cancer care and nursing excellence. The hospital is part of Kentucky’s largest academic health system with eight hospitals, four medical centers, Brown Cancer Center, Eye Institute, nearly 200 physician practice locations and more than 1,000 providers.

“Health care is a human right, and for 200 years, UofL Hospital has been making sure our people have access to the best care possible,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “They’ve been there for folks in Louisville and across the commonwealth, providing world-class trauma care, cutting-edge research and helping us get through a once-in-a-century global pandemic. They’ve provided lifesaving care for heroes like Officer Nick Wilt, who ran toward danger to save lives. Congratulations to all the dedicated doctors, nurses and staff at UofL Health on this incredible milestone.”

“Louisville’s growth into one of the top 30 cities in America is due in large part to the success of our health care system, and that includes the incredible work that happens at UofL Hospital every day,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg. “We are grateful for the lifesaving care, the community partnerships and the overall excellence that has come from UofL Hospital and its team for the past 200 years.”

Among its most significant contributions to medical history, is the nation’s birthplace for trauma care. In 1911, the hospital, then known as Louisville City Hospital, formed an accident service, specifically to care for patients with injuries and fractures. It was the first of its kind in the nation and contributed to the present-day success of emergency departments and trauma centers across the country.

“For decades, UofL Hospital has served as an excellent training ground for aspiring doctors, nurses and allied health professionals enrolled at the University of Louisville,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “Here, our residents and students have become well-versed in the kind of compassionate care for which UofL Hospital has been known for generations throughout the region. All of us at UofL join in the salute to UofL Hospital as it marks 200 years of tremendous care and treatment, lifesaving research and an unwavering presence in downtown Louisville.”

“The trauma team at UofL Hospital is saving lives today that would have been unthinkable by our predecessors,” said Dr. Jason Smith, UofL Health chief medical officer. “But we stand on the shoulders of those visionary leaders who first assembled the expertise to treat emergency cases and the made a commitment to provide every patient with the very best in care.”

As the mission continued to grow, so did the need for more beds. By 1914, the new hospital was ready with a state-of-the-art emergency room and more than 400 beds. It also included 44 bassinets, of which Louisville’s own Muhammad Ali was undoubtedly the most famous occupant, born at Louisville General Hospital in 1942. The latest hospital name change came around the same time when the hospital extended its primary patient area beyond the city limits to include all of Jefferson County.

To better reflect and serve its patient population, the hospital staff experienced milestone growth in the 1950s. Drs. Orville Ballard and Grace James joined the medical staff as the first Black physicians, and Flora Ponder started as one of the first Black registered nursing students.

“Elevating the importance of diversity, for both creating an inclusive team and improving patient care, began decades ago,” said Shari Kretzschmer, UofL Health chief nursing officer. “It is one of the many reasons UofL Hospital is now recognized among the top 10% of hospitals across the country to achieve Magnet status for nursing excellence.”

The current hospital, opened in 1983, is undergoing a $182 million expansion to increase the hospital’s operating capacity and facilitate a phased modernization to include all private beds. When complete, UofL Hospital will offer all private rooms, expand the operating room capacity and add a 24-bed observation unit. The first phases of the project are expected to open in early 2025.

UofL Hospital anchors the east side of UofL Health’s downtown Academic Medical Center and a partner in the Louisville Medical & ����ֱ�� District (LOUMED). More than 1.5 million patients rely on UofL Health for medical care, with patients from each of Kentucky’s 120 counties and southern Indiana.

These generous gifts from The Gheens Foundation and an anonymous donor were used for renovations and upgrades to the classrooms that make UofL’s School of Nursing a competitive destination for students. With nearly 1,000 students across multiple degree programs ranging from undergraduate to graduate programs, students at all levels benefit from the newly renovated space.

“Thank you to our partners, The Gheens Foundation and an anonymous donor, for investing in UofL’s School of Nursing and our community’s next generation of nursing leaders,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “We want to attract the best students and provide them with an unrivaled nursing education environment so they are prepared to face today’s health care challenges.”

School of Nursing Interim Dean Mary DeLetter said faculty and students are thankful for the needed updates.

“With changes ranging from noise reduction and brightened teaching and learning spaces, to modern technology for teaching and learning, the positive and ultramodern environment allows students to focus on the didactic learning that immediately supports their clinical experiences and ultimately, strengthens their readiness to practice,” DeLetter said.

“The very existence of the Gheens Foundation is a testament to the love and generosity its co-founders, the late Edwin and Mary Jo Gheens, had for the citizens and the institutions of this community. I am confident they would be most pleased with the trustees’ decision to support the vital mission of the School of Nursing in a manner that will attract, recruit and educate nurses for generations to come,” said Barry G. Allen, president and treasurer of The Gheens Foundation, Inc.

Additionally, numerous private donors have been extremely generous in supporting the School of Nursing, including an anonymous donor who contributed to renovating multiple classrooms over the past few years.

As part of the celebration, Room 2022 was dedicated in honor of Flora McGuire Ponder, who, in 1954, was one of the first African American students to enroll in the Louisville General Hospital School of Nursing – a precursor to the UofL School of Nursing. Ponder helped establish and served as director of nurses at the Park-DuValle Community Health Center. She also assisted in establishing the first emergency transportation service into what is now the Louisville EMS Service. Ponder and other Louisville General Hospital graduates have been recognized as adopted alumni of the UofL School of Nursing.

The School of Nursing graduates the highest number of bachelor’s-prepared nurses in Kentucky and is the only nursing school in the region that is part of a long-standing health sciences center.

View a from the ribbon-cutting event on .

Watch a of the ribbon-cutting press conference:

She was inspired by her great-grandmother to attend nursing school and was the first African-American nursing student to live in the student nurses’ home. At that time, Louisville General Hospital was the teaching and research hospital for the UofL Medical School.

, Ponder spent her career working to meet the health care needs of the underserved in collaboration with Sloane, who was a physician. She served as the head nurse of recovery and the Intensive Care Unit at the Louisville General Hospital from 1957-1958, and went on to serve as the head nurse at the Louisville and Jefferson County Health Department form 1959-1965.��

Ponder helped to establish and served as the Director of Nurses at the Park-DuValle Community Health Center. She assisted in establishing the first emergency transportation service at Park-DuValle, which later expanded to the city of Louisville. This evolved into what is today the Louisville EMS Service.��

Ponder currently serves as a nursing consultant to various health organizations. She is listed in the��Profiles of Contemporary Black Achievers of Kentucky��and the��Notable Kentucky African American���岹�ٲ���������.

In 1987, Ponder was recognized as an Adopted Alumna and is now a ��