Denver in the 1880s was a boomtown. As the gateway to mining towns throughout the Rockies, people flocked here from around the country to seek their fortune.
But, another less visible group came to Denver as well. Consumptives seeking a cure in the Colorado sunshine and clean mountain air for their wasting disease came to the city.
Some, the fortunate few who could afford treatment, when sunshine and fresh air failed them, found some peace in resorts like Manitou Springs. Others, more often, ended up on the city streets, penniless, homeless and without hope.
In response to the crisis, a few pioneering individuals led by Frances Wisebart Jacobs, the wife of a wealthy merchant, made it their mission to build a facility that would cater to the poorest consumptives who would otherwise be without care.
Together, the group led by Jacobs, raised funds to build a hospital dedicated to the care of indigent TB patients.
At the hospital groundbreaking, Rabbi William Friedman shared the vision for this facility. As pain knows no creed, so is this building, the grand idea of Judaism, which is cast aside no stranger no matter of what creed or blood. We consecrate this structure to humanity, to our suffering fellowman, regardless of creed.
On December 10, 1899, Alberta Hensen, a young Swedish woman from Minnesota who suffered from tuberculosis, was admitted for treatment at National Jewish Hospital for treatment of consumptives. She was not charged for her treatment. No patient was for the first 70 years the facility operated.
Over the next several years, the facility added capacity to care for the increasing number of tuberculosis patients, including a facility to care for children whose parents were unable to support them due to their illness and need for residential treatment.
Realizing the limitations in treating tuberculosis, in January 1915, National Jewish opened the Gradfelder building, the nation's first medical research facility in a non-university setting. This allowed physicians and researchers the opportunity to pursue new treatments and cures for tuberculosis and other respiratory illness, and began the organization's commitment to discovery and research.
By 1925, National Jewish was globally recognized as a leader in research and treatment of tuberculosis. In that year, the Colorado Medical School designated National Jewish as the training center in the treatment of tuberculosis and other chest medicine education for their students.
Courses were held at the hospital and taught by National Jewish physicians and staff.
Today, National Jewish continues this commitment to educating the next generation of health care providers.
