Mt. Zion Hospital & School of Nursing
The Mount Zion Hospital Association was organized in 1887.
It was not until the beginning of 1897 that Mount Zion Hospital came into existence.
Mt. Zion Hospital, early 20th century, #WS13/1866
During the interim nine-year period, funds were raised, including a donation of $5,000 from Clara de Hirsch, widow of the famed Baron Maurice de Hirsch.
The preamble to its Constitution (1888) noted that the hospital would be for the purpose, “of affording surgical and medical aid, comfort and protection in sickness to deserving and needy Israelites and others…”
In 1897, Julius Rosenstirn, M.D. offered his private hospital at the northeast corner of Sutter and Hyde, with all its furnishings and equipment.
Dr. Rosenstirn put his hospital at the disposal of the Mount Zion Hospital Association without a charge of any kind.
The building enabled Mount Zion Hospital to start with twelve-bed facility, though it was quickly apparent that larger quarters would be needed.
At the time the new hospital opened, there was much discussion as to whether a Jewish hospital was needed.
The city-operated hospital was so shoddy that the Board of Health of San Francisco had condemned it as dangerous; yet, it was the only place available for people who couldn’t afford private hospital care, including many Jews.
The Gunst Outpatient Clinic opened in 1916, funded by the family of Moses Gunst.
Laying of the cornerstone, new Mt. Zion Hospital, 1912, #WS 14/1996
In 1897, the Mount Zion Training School for Nurses was formed with a large grant from Isaias W. Hellman in honor of his late wife, Esther.
Mount Zion Hospital’s new facility was opened in 1914 and was considered the most modern hospital in San Francisco.
In 1962, the Mount Zion Training School for Nurses was closed after training over 1,200 highly skilled nurses for the community.
In 1989, Mount Zion Hospital began a planned merger with the University of California, which was completed in 1992.
Mount Zion was the first Jewish-sponsored hospital in the West.
Bella Weinstock, Sylvia Boasberg & Claire Goodman, student nurses at Mt. Zion School of Nursing, 1912,
#WS14/2080
It has gone from strength to strength as a top-rated institution, still rendering magnificent service now as a part of the University of California.
Sources
- Norton B. Stern, “Mount Zion Hospital,” Western States Jewish History 41/2.
- Norton B. Stern, “Mount Zion Hospital School of Nursing,” Western States Jewish History 41/2.
