01/07/2026
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Happy birthday! ¡Feliz cumpleaños! Feliz aniversário! З Днем Народження! Gelukkige verjaarsdag! जन्मदिन की शुभकामनाएँ!
It's our birthday week and we are proud to have been serving the community here in the Avenues for 121 years. On Thursday, January 5th, 1905, the W.H. Groves Latter-day Saints Hospital was opened to the public in Salt Lake City, Utah, and two days later on Saturday, January 7th, 1905, we admitted our first patient.
While in the care of a doctor at St. Mark's Hospital, Dr W.H. Groves, a local dentist, was told the community had a great need for an additional hospital. He changed his will and three sites were considered before settling on building the hospital on the hill that has grown into the Greater Avenues Community. This was fortuitous because there were women who had been imploring Brigham Young that there was a growing need for another hospital in the Salt Lake Valley, too, after the closing of the Deseret Hospital.
When the site was selected, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped with a large portion of the $180,000 it took to build the 80-bed hospital. When it opened, the newspapers reported that the hospital was the "finest west of the Mississippi." Over time, the hospital grew into a premier site for surgical and critical care (ICU) innovations, cutting-edge cardiovascular care, the first medical computer, advanced NICU care, world-recognized research, a nursing school, and so much more!
During 121 years, the hospital has gone through many changes from bed count, services, and size/look. In 1975, the hospital transferred ownership from the Church to Intermountain Health and the name was changed to LDS Hospital. However, one thing has remained the same, quoting from a newspaper report, "We have been assured by competent physicians and surgeons who have traveled the world over for that for its size it is unexcelled anywhere, and it is in all respects a model institution."
We continue to invite you to share your memories, wether you were a caregiver, patient, or descendant of someone who had an impact on our work. We are better together and couldn't have come this far without each of you! Your stories of courage, innovation, growth, and more will continue to solidify our foundation that will take us into the next century of care🩷💙