[1] 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.
Deaconess sisters lived in a group home, were paid a small stipend and no salary,[3] and in later years were subject to short-term or permanent transfers.
[4] In 1985, the first Saint Louis Crisis Nursery was established when a branch of Deaconess Hospital was bought out.
Proceeds from the 1997 sale to Tenet Healthcare Corp. were used to establish the Deaconess Foundation, which grants to children's causes in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
[10] In 2012, the hospital closed[11] and its property was purchased by the nearby St. Louis Zoo as part of a 20-year expansion project.