SAINT LUKE'S HOSPITAL ASSN. (SLHA) is a multi-institutional system of hospitals (see HOSPITALS AND HEALTH PLANNING) which ST. LUKE'S MEDICAL CENTER has acquired or with which it has affiliated. The SLHA was founded in 1904 as "Saint Luke's Hospital Assn. of Cleveland, Ohio, of the Methodist Episcopal Church." A corporation, it had previously been known as the College Building & Hospital Assn. (est. 30 Jan 1894), which operated Cleveland General Hospital. The articles of incorporation were amended to state a new purpose, "to maintain and conduct a general hospital and school of nursing in Cleveland, Ohio, under the control of the Methodist Episcopal Church and acquire by gift or otherwise the necessary real estate, buildings, property and funds..."
The history of the SLHA was largely that of a single hospital, St. Luke's, until 1980, when the association adopted a long-range plan. The plan, which emphasized increased accessibility for residents of the SUBURBS, included: placing physicians in suburban medical buildings; building a 24-hour emergency center in SOLON; acquiring or affiliating with other hospitals; and creating a for-profit corporation. By 1983 SLHA held leases on 5 medical buildings, had established the growing Emergency Center of Solon, acquired SHAKER MEDICAL CENTER HOSPITAL, founded the for-profit Medical Outreach Services, and negotiated affiliations with the Northeast Ohio Family Practice Center in Solon and with BRENTWOOD HOSPITAL for residency programs. That year it became a parent company with control over St. Luke's Hospital, Shaker Medical Center Hospital, and Medical Services Outreach Services, Inc., consolidating the assets and liabilities of all the corporations. Each subsidiary, however, maintained its own board of trustees and controlled its own operating decisions.
In 1995 St. Luke's Hospital Assn. was an organization of over 100 individuals from the Greater Cleveland community who use their knowledge and expertise to benefit the work of the medical center. The association oversaw the investment and management of an endowment fund, gifts and grants, pension funds, and other financial resources that support the medical center's programs and services.
Finding aid for the Saint Luke's Foundation (Hospital) Records, WRHS.
Finding aid for the Saint Luke's Hospital Photographs, WRHS.
Finding aid for the Saint Luke's Hospital Construction Photographs, WRHS.