Missouri Pacific Railroad Hospitals

Fort Worth, Texas

The Missouri Pacific Hospital in Fort Worth opened in 1883.  The nursing staff were nuns from the Order of the Incarnate Word.  In 1889 the railroad relocated its patients to the Sedalia, Missouri hospital and sold the Fort Worth facility to the sisters, who renamed it St. Joseph's Infirmary, and later, St. Joseph's Hospital.  (Source:  TSHA Online)  The original railroad buildings were demolished at some point and replaced with modern structures.  Around the late 20th century, the hospital was sold to HCA Healthcare and closed, then sold to JPS Health System, which now owns the site.  

St. Louis, Missouri

The Missouri Pacific Hospital in St. Louis was a very large and well equipped facility.  It sat in a prominent location facing a large park (more pictures farther down.)  It had 375 beds and boasted of a $3.5 million investment in the facility.   Located at 1755 S. Grand Blvd., it is still in use today as a healthcare facility.  Today it is the  Anheuser-Busch Eye Institute of St. Louis University.  The park, Compton Hill Reservoir Park, remains in place too.

MPRR Hospital Brochure #1

The railroad published this elaborate tri-fold brochure describing the hospital.  It is undated, but probably precedes brochure #2 below.  One section lists “Helpful Suggestions,” most of which are hospital rules and policies, including no whistling or laughing.  This brochure provides several very rare interior views of a railroad hospital. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

MPRR Hospital Brochure #2

This brochure, postmarked in 1966, appears to be a revised version of Brochure #1.  The brochure has been reduced from three folding sections to two, and most of the pictures have been removed.  In contrast to the previous one, it is printed on card stock, and one half of the brochure is a detachable postcard.  Whereas the previous version advised patients to “notify your folks of your safe arrival,” this one actually provides a postcard with which to do so.  (Since railroads used regional hospitals which served large multi-state areas, patients might have traveled hundreds of miles to reach the hospital.) Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

More scenes from the hospital, courtesy of The Railway Surgeon 

Source:  The Railway Surgeon, volume 3, issue 3, 6 April 1897