[4] The origins of what is now St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute began in 1897 when a group of Episcopalians founded a sanatorium called the Spokane Protestant Sanitarium at Sprague Avenue and Madison Street but later moved to another location on a triangular block on North Summit Boulevard formed by West Dean Avenue and North A Street.

[5] The hospital was supported by community fundraising, in-kind donations, volunteers, and through the philanthropy of early Spokane businessmen such as John A. Finch, Amasa Campbell, and R.L.

The hospital focused its efforts on fulfilling underserved gaps in community healthcare and specialized in caring for those with polio, where it was a regional center for its treatment.

[6] In 1970, the hospital moved into a newly constructed complex at 711 S. Cowley Street on the lower South Hill Medical District.

[5] A 1985 merger with Deaconess reorganized it into Empire Health Services and it received its current name in 1992, focusing its organizational mission on recovery and rehabilitation.