The hospital was founded in 1875 by the Sisters of Providence, a Roman Catholic sisterhood from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

[4] In January 1971, the original campus in northwest Portland was closed and the current facility opened in Washington County.

[8] In November 2009, the employees at the hospital, in conjunction with Medline Industries, produced the "Pink Glove Dance" video (set to "Down") to raise awareness of breast cancer, with the video going viral on the Internet and making national news.

[9][10] In October 2015, work began on a four-year, $85 million remodeling of the nine-story main hospital building, which was built in 1971.

[11] Along with seismic retrofitting and modest expansion, the project will add a new aluminum exterior over the building's existing exposed-concrete surface, greatly changing its appearance when completed.