The Sisters of St. Joseph built St. John Hospital in 1952,[4] with 250 beds and 70 employees on Moross Road at the old Beaupre farm in a section called the “widow’s dower.” Work on the hospital began immediately following the groundbreaking ceremony on March 8, 1948, the feast of St. John of God (who in 1540 established a house to harbor poor and sick persons).
Solanus Casey, the first United States-born man to be declared "venerable" by the Roman Catholic Church, died on July 31, 1957, in St. John Hospital (in Room 305 of the old wing, which has a plaque outside the door) at the age of 86.
In May 2000 he was appointed as the senior vice president of Ascension Health's Great Lakes Division.
[citation needed] In 2003 the hospital stated that it expected to have a $40 million loss for its 2004 fiscal year.
The organization officials stated that "Providence" was added to the name in order to reflect the system's "spiritually centered patient care experience".
[9] In August 2024, Ascension sold four hospitals in Saginaw, Standish, and Tawas to MyMichigan Health.
[10] Later, in September 2024, the system's Metro Detroit and Greater Flint operations were transferred to Henry Ford Health, as a result of a joint venture between the organizations.
[16] In 2011 the system sold the St. John Senior Community Center and the closed Riverview Hospital, both in Detroit, to DRSN, an investment group.
The facility is able to serve 31 mothers, infants and families for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care.
In addition, St. John serves as a practical training site for students of Nursing, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Science, and Physical and Occupational Therapy, among others.