CHRISTUS Spohn Health System Celebrates 115 Years

CHRISTUS Spohn Health System is celebrating 115 years of answering the call to care for our community. Through pandemics and disease, CHRISTUS Spohn remains a pillar of strength in the fight to protect and heal the people of South Texas.

Our story began in 1895, when surgeon, Dr. Arthur E. Spohn moved to Corpus Christi after leading efforts in the fight against the spread of the Yellow Fever epidemic. Together, Dr. Spohn and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio noticed a lack of health care in our region, and together established Spohn Sanitorium in 1905.
 
It was in July of that year, when Mother Cleophas Hurst and three Sisters from the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio opened Spohn Sanitarium on Corpus Christi's North Beach. Dr. Spohn made the request to the Sisters and they journeyed to South Texas to help run the city's first hospital. Before the Sisters arrival, Dr. Spohn was caring for patients in their homes and in a makeshift operating room at the Incarnate Word Convent.
 
In 1897, a fundraising campaign began to build a hospital in Corpus Christi. It took eight years to raise the $12,000 construction cost. The two-story frame hospital was built on North Beach, just 100 yards from the Corpus Christi Bay. Fourteen years later, a devastating hurricane destroyed the building, killing four people, including one Sister.

Hospital supporters resumed their fundraising campaign, and in 1923 a state of the art for its time, 50-bed Spohn Hospital at 1436 Third Street was dedicated. 

That facility has evolved a bit over the years and is now a beacon to the health care community known  as CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi- Shoreline.
 

Dr. Arthur E. Spohn

Over a 115 year period, Dr. Spohn with the brave Sisters leading the way have evolved a small health care ministry into what it is today. The CHRISTUS Spohn Health System, with hospitals in Corpus Christi, Kingsville, Beeville, Kleberg and Alice has become not only one of the top private employers in the region but also a place where stories of hope and healing continue to unfold daily.
 
CHRISTUS Spohn Health System takes pride in being known as an institution that provides quality, compassionate care to all who are in need. We are proud to have been a consistent part of your life, and the lives of generations past, with the same commitment to your safety and well-being.
 
Together we are strong, and together we will prevail.