Our Lady Of Peace
| Our Lady of Peace | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1949 |
| Opened | 1951 |
| Current Status | Active |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Louisville, KY |
| Alternate Names |
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History[edit]
Archbishop Floersh approved fund-raising by the SCNs for the new hospital and they began on May 15, 1949. In their first fund-raising appeal since their foundation in 1812, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth launched a citywide drive for funds to build the hospital. Parishes, physicians, public officials, and persons of all faiths gave generously. The blessing of Our Lady of Peace Hospital by Archbishop Floersh was held on December 8, 1950, followed by a tour of the Hospital for Kentucky and United States health officials. Later, an open house was scheduled for the public. Sister Mary Benigna Heslin was appointed administrator and fifteen SCNs staffed the new hospital.
By 1955, Our Lady of Peace Nursing Program was in full operation. A 13-week program in psychiatric care, a mandatory requirement for all nurses in training, brought to Our Lady of Peace an average of 50 to 60 student nurses. That Louisville and surrounding areas needed a psychiatric hospital was evident in 1956.Only five years after the opening of the hospital, Our Lady of Peace made plans for a new wing. The hospital needed 100 additional beds, a rehabilitation center, and a convent for the sisters on staff. The Federal Government contributed $500,000 to the project and Nazareth assumed the balance of the debt. Another addition, East Hall, added more space for vital services. Sister Dolores Greenwell, SCN, a nurse at Our Lady of Peace from 1956-1960, did psychiatric nursing in the 260-bed facility. Sister Dolores said the hospital was consistently filled to capacity.
Our Lady of Peace is one of the largest private, nonprofit psychiatric hospitals in the country. It treats patients with emotional, as well as behavioral, psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. The facility offers an array of specialized units and programs including short-term acute/sub-acute inpatient care and innovative alternatives such as partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs for children, adolescents and adults. The hospital was founded as an adult hospital in 1951 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and currently operates 261 inpatient beds.
In 1989, its mission expanded to meet an overwhelming need for quality pediatric care. As a result, Our Lady of Peace is now the largest private provider of youth behavioral health services in the country and has more inpatient beds for children than any hospital in Kentucky. It offers specialty programs for children and adolescents who have complex treatment needs, such as intellectual or developmental disabilities, forensic issues and/or mental illness and cooccurring mental health and substance use disorders.
In 2019, Our Lady of Peace was sold to the University of Louisville and renamed Peace Hospital.
