It was named for abolitionist Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew (1818–1867), a main force in the creation of negro troops in the U.S.

Its original purpose was to train nursing students and provide care for faculty members at the Tuskegee Institute.

[3] In 1902, John A. Kenney Sr. was appointed its director, after which the hospital increased in size and expanded its reach to the entire surrounding community.

It was rebuilt using money donated by the wife of Charles E. Mason, a trustee of the Tuskegee Institute.

[4] In a 1919 article in the Nation's Health, Kinney described the hospital as "a modern, up-to-date, well-appointed, two-story brick building, with accommodations for sixty patients with no crowding, and for a good many more when it is necessary.