SIBLEY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

Sibley Memorial Hospital's proud heritage can be traced to the year 1890, when the Lucy Webb Hayes National Training School for Deaconesses and Missionaries was founded by The Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. The school was named for the first president of the Society, Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States.

The mission of the school was to train nurse deaconesses. It was soon recognized that a hospital was needed to provide a clinical setting for nursing education and medical and nursing care to a growing Washington, DC, population. William J. Sibley, a member of the Foundry Methodist Church and an early supporter of the work of the National Training School, donated $10,000 for construction of a hospital in memory of his wife, Dorothea Lowndes Sibley. The hospital was dedicated on October 19, 1894, and opened to receive patients in March of 1895.

The services of the hospital steadily expanded, and by 1925 the facilities filled the entire block on North Capitol Street at Pierce and M Streets, where the hospital continued to meet the growing healthcare needs of the community for the next 35 years.

By the end of the 1940s, when it became evident that the buildings on North Capital and Pierce and M Streets were outdated, a large, modern facility was planned. However, there was not room for expansion on the old site. A 12-acre plot of land on Loughboro Road became available in the early 1950s, but purchase of this land to build a new hospital required congressional legislation. The Speaker of the House, John W. McCormack, spearheaded the legislation to permit acquisition of the site from the federal government with the aid of Senator and Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson. After several hearings, legislation was passed and the statute was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 4, 1957.

After relocating to the present site in 1961, the first modernization project was to reorient a 1960s inpatient facility to serve both the inpatient and outpatient needs of the 1990s. This included the rising demand for outpatient services and high technology procedures. In the mid-1970s, the Board of Trustees, anticipating the need for modernization, initiated plans to upgrade the surgical suites, renovate the nursing units, and centralize all outpatient services. The project, covering seven floors of the hospital and the adjacent Hayes Hall complex, cost $18,000,000.

In 1977, planning began for another extensive modernization and expansion program. This renovation, which began in 1983, included the redesign and refurbishing of all nursing units, the emergency department, pathology and radiology, physical therapy, cardiopulmonary care, birthing suites and nurseries, and a family-centered care unit. Renovations also included expansion of progressive care, surgical intensive care, endoscopy, medical intensive care, and a pediatric suite. New services at Sibley included an outpatient department for arthritis services, physical and occupational therapy, and the Sibley Senior Association. A spacious new lobby, gift shop, and admissions office were created. The Sibley Surgery Center in Hayes Hall now had its own operating and recovery rooms for specific types of surgery.

Throughout its history, Sibley has endeavored to offer modern healthcare services in keeping with advances in science and medical technology.