St. Joseph Hospital

Almost a hundred years after it was founded in 1914, the last chapter in the history of St. Joseph Hospital, Ottumwa, Iowa, is about to come to an end with the demolition of the hospital building. The Sisters of the Humility of Mary started St. Joseph Hospital in 1914 in a former convent and school on East Fourth Street. In 1925, they constructed a new hospital facility at North Ash Street and East Alta Vista Avenue. That building served the community as St. Joseph Hospital until 1987, when it merged with Ottumwa Regional Health Center. Called the Alta Vista Site, the building continued to provide services and office space until 2012 when it was closed. Full color and black & white illustrations recreate the hospital's century of caring for the residents of Ottumwa and Wapello County, Iowa.