Timeline Leading to UMCNO

Here’s a quick timeline of the various hospitals grouped together as New Orleans Charity Hospital condensed from John Salvaggio’s History of Charity Hospital (available in print in the Isché Library) with additions since its 1992 publication.

The first Charity Hospital was the provisional Ursuline Convent at Bienville and Chartres in 1736 and was called L’Hospital des Pauvres de la Charité or Hospital of St. John.

The second (built 1743 and destroyed 1779 by hurricane) and third, San Carlos Hospital or Hospital of St. Charles, (built 1785 and destroyed 1809 by fire) hospitals were built near Basin St.

The fourth hospital opened in 1815 at State House Square (Canal, Common, Philippa and Baronne) or roughly the location of the Roosevelt Hotel.

The fifth hospital was completed in 1833 and was designed to house 400 – 550 patients. The Daughters of Charity took over the administration of the hospital in 1834.  A photo of this location from the 1921 resides in the Library Commons.

The sixth hospital (Big Charity) opened its doors in 1939 and closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The seventh hospital, the Interim LSU Hospital, functioned from 2006 through 2015.

University Medical Center New Orleans, which opened on August 1st,  is the 8th hospital in a direct line from that first hospital over 275 years ago.