The story of Saint John’s Health Center began more than 100 years before the hospital even opened its doors. In 1832, 15-year-old Ann Ross defied her Methodist family and joined the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. She went on to found and lead her own order, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, a religious community of Catholic women working primarily in the areas of education, healthcare, social services and pastoral ministry.

In 1939, the Sisters brought their devotion and extensive healthcare experience to Santa Monica, and began raising funds to build and administer a much-needed community hospital.

Construction on Saint John’s started in 1941. The project pulled together the entire community. Everyone, from the Chief of Surgery to the Sisters themselves, helped build, paint and even haul the furniture into the new hospital. One of the Sisters, Sister Hypatia, was a trained engineer who took it upon herself to study the construction blueprints daily. If something did not meet her high standards, she made the workers redo the work until she was satisfied.

Finally, Saint John’s opened its doors to patients on Oct. 25, 1942, during the height of World War II. To keep the hospital functioning in those early days, everyone connected with Saint John’s had to take on new roles. The Sisters worked as nurses, X-ray technicians and medical technologists. In no time, all 89 beds and 35 bassinets in the new hospital were full.