Our History

A Legacy of Compassionate Care
For more than 90 years, Baptist Hospital has been devoted to physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Baptist Hospital is the largest not-for-profit community hospital in Middle Tennessee, licensed for 683 acute and rehab care beds. Located in Nashville’s midtown area, the hospital’s campus covers more than six city blocks or 38 acres with nearly two million square feet of space. Baptist Hospital’s heritage of healing is one of continuous growth, community service and superior care. Over the years, we have established nursing schools, become a pioneer in technical advances and grown into a major medical center that provides diversified care.

Incorporated in 1918 and opening its doors to the community on March 20, 1919 as Protestant Hospital, our facility was built to meet the urgent healthcare needs of the city’s growing population. Protestant Hospital became Mid-State Baptist Hospital on April 21, 1948, and then later transitioned to BaptistHospital on Dec. 17, 1964. By 1973, Baptist Hospital had grown to 600 beds and become one of the largest hospitals in the mid-South. In 2002, Baptist Hospital joined Saint Thomas Health Services’ regional health system consisting of five hospitals – Baptist and Saint Thomas Hospitals and the Center for Spinal Surgery in Nashville, Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro and Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville – and a comprehensive network of affiliated joint ventures in diagnostics, cardiac services and ambulatory surgery as well as medical practices, clinics and rehabilitation facilities. Saint Thomas Health Services is a member of Ascension Health, a Catholic organization that is the largest not-for-profit health system in the United States.