[1][2] Construction began in 1503[3] in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at the behest of governor (and namesake of the hospital) Nicolás de Ovando.

[3] Already a ruin in 1908 when part of its façade collapsed, the hospital exhibited a combination of Gothic and Renaissance elements, with some considerable Mudéjar influence, as was typical of 16th Century Santo Domingo buildings.

[7] In recognition of the primacy in the Americas represented by the Hospital San Nicolás de Bari, on January 28, 2021 with the interest of strengthening the historical and cultural aspects associated with the rich history of medicine represented in the Dominican Republic, the Standing Committee on Cultural Center and Pan American Museum of Medical Sciences (MPCM) is formed, a project led by the National University Pedro Henríquez Ureña and the office of the Mayor of Santo Domingo.

The project seeks to create interdisciplinary Pan-American synergies that promote the development of this important cultural-historical project, thus developing a permanent museum in the spaces associated with the Ruins of the Nicolás de Bari Hospital, and from there promoting permanent and temporary exhibitions and cultural exchanges that make up the Americas.

The provisional secretariat is in charge of the staff at the Center for High Humanistic and Spanish Language Studies, attached to UNPHU, which operates in the historic House of the Jesuits, former headquarters of the Pontifical University of Santiago de la Paz and Gorgón.