History

The first hospital in Mankato began in 1886 when Colonel John Tourtellotte donated $8,000 to the city to build a place where the poor could be treated free of charge. That first hospital was built one mile from the city and had a bed capacity of 20.

In 1897, city trustees asked the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother to take charge of the hospital. They agreed to operate the hospital for one year for a fee of $1,000. The following year the sisters purchased the Willard House on North Sixth Street and opened St. Joseph's Hospital in July 1898, with a bed capacity of 22. Later additions brought the capacity up to 120 beds and in 1953 the decision was made to build a new building on the hilltop of Mankato. The five-story building was built in the shape of a Greek cross. An adjoining service building, connected to the main building by tunnel, contained the laundry and boiler plant.

Immanuel Hospital was begun in 1906 by the German Lutheran Hospital Association under sponsorship of Immanuel Lutheran Church of Mankato. The hospital underwent several additions and in 1941 it became community sponsored.

In January 1969, the two hospitals merged in what is believed to be the first such merger of a Lutheran and a Catholic hospital in the United States. The actual physical merger took place nearly ten years later, in 1978, with the construction of an addition to the hilltop facility.

In March 1996, Immanuel St. Joseph's became part of Mayo Clinic Health System - an organization that includes clinics, hospitals and other health care providers that care for patients in communities in Iowa, Georgia, Wisconsin and Minnesota. As part of Mayo Clinic, a leading caregiver with nearly 150 years of patient care, research and medical education expertise, we offer a full spectrum of health care options to local neighborhoods, ranging from primary to highly specialized care. It's why we're recognized as one of the most successful regional health care systems in the United States..