Baptist Hospital is the largest not-for-profit community hospital in Middle Tennessee, licensed for 683 acute and rehab care beds. 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.
Established in 1918 as Protestant Hospital, our facility was built to meet the urgent healthcare needs of the city’s growing population. The hospital was incorporated on Dec. 12, 1918, and opened its doors on March 20, 1919. Managed by Nashville’s Protestant church leaders, its foundation and focus were inter-denominational.
In 1948, Protestant Hospital became Mid-State Baptist Hospital and under the direction of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The hospital’s name defined the area the hospital would serve — between the mountains and the Tennessee River and the state lines. The hospital board was committed to being a ministry to humanity, no matter a person’s background or ethnic group.
The hospital again changed its name in 1964 to Baptist Hospital and by 1973, it had grown to 600 beds and become one of the largest hospitals in the mid-South.
The hospital became independent from the Tennessee Baptist Convention in 1991.
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. STHS is a member of Ascension Health, a Catholic organization that is the largest not-for-profit health system in the United States.