Deaconess Hospital (St. Louis, Missouri)

Deaconess Hospital was the name of several hospitals in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Deaconess tradition began in 19th-century Europe when Theodor Fliedner of Kaiserswerth, Germany, established the first Deaconess Home and Hospital in 1836. The word deaconess means “one who is devoted to service”, being the feminine gender of the word deacon.

Deaconess Central Hospital was first established in St. Louis on March 18, 1889 by the Evangelical Deaconess Society of St. Louis, which was part of the Evangelical Synod that later merged with other Protestant denominations to form the United Church of Christ. It was managed by a board, not managed by the church. On August 18, 1889, the first two deaconess sisters in the United States were consecrated by the Deaconess Society. Deaconess sisters lived in a group home, were paid a small stipend and no salary, and in later years were subject to short-term or permanent transfers. They were to remain unmarried. They wore uniforms and were addressed as "Sister" followed by their forenames.