History
More Than a Century of Care & Compassion
Good Samaritan was founded on and named after the Good Samaritan parable, provided below:
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. “And love your neighbor as yourself.”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was, and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘And when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” – Luke 10:25-37
Good Samaritan
In 1908, we opened our doors to serve our community’s health needs. Over the years, that single building has become many as we responded to your changing medical needs and the area’s growth. But one thing has never changed—our mission to serve. It is put into action every day by dedicated health-care professionals, employees, and volunteers.
1901
The plight of a sick traveler motivates the women of the Columbian Reading
Circle to establish a hospital.
1903
The Clark-Gibault Memorial Hospital Association is founded to facilitate
the building of a county hospital.
1908
Good Samaritan opens its doors on February 8, 1908. The 25-bed facility
is the first county hospital in Indiana.
Edith Willis becomes the hospital’s first superintendent (1908-1944). Her staff includes an assistant superintendent, a student nurse, a janitor and a cook.
1918
The North Wing is added, bringing the number of patient beds to 60.
1922
The completed South Wing provides 21 more patient beds and 19 bassinets.
1944
The medical staff purchases an X-ray machine for the hospital with their
own money. Good Samaritan’s radiology department is born.
1949
Good Samaritan Memorial Building is completed; its 175 patient beds answer
an urgent need as patient volume soars.
1958
Major renovations bring the number of patient beds to 221 and add state-of-the-art
facilities for a laboratory, physical medicine, radiology, and rehabilitation.
1962
The Knox County Hospital Association is founded. It continues to play an
integral role in the hospital’s growth and development.
1967
A new four-bed cardiac care unit is unveiled, heralding the birth of Cardiology
in Vincennes.
1968
Groundbreaking is held for the modern, seven-story Columbian Tower addition.
1971
The Columbian Tower addition opens to the public.
1980
Groundbreaking is held for the Columbian Tower West.
1984
Columbian Tower West is completed, bringing the number of patient beds
to 342 and adding a new cardiology department and a modernized emergency room.
1989
The new Diagnostic and Treatment Center opens with a Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) machine, a Radiation Therapy Planning Simulator, a Cobalt
Radiation Therapy Unit and a Linear Accelerator Radiation Unit.
1993
The Heart Center opens to the public.
The hospital’s first open-heart surgery is performed on July 14, 1993.
1995
The five-story Health Pavilion opens with the latest outpatient technology
and a Women’s and Infants Center.
1997
Good Samaritan creates a Foundation to secure private, philanthropic support
for the hospital.
2001
The Medical Arts Building is completed.
2004
The two-story, 30,000-square-foot Same Day Surgery Center opens. It streamlines
outpatient services and specializes in quick, less invasive surgical procedures.
2005
The inpatient surgery renovation is completed.
2008
Good Samaritan celebrates its centennial anniversary.
The 25,000-square-foot Cancer Pavilion is completed. It centralizes a full spectrum of cancer care including radiation and infusion therapy in a patient-focused atmosphere.
2012
Groundbreaking is held for the BEACON Project (Building Excellence Around
Communities, Opportunities, and Needs). The project encompasses a 120-bed,
five-story inpatient tower, a redesign of key health care service areas,
and an upgrade to the hospital’s engineering systems.
2015
Opening of Gibault Memorial Tower.
2016
Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit moved to a newly renovated space on the second
floor of Columbian Tower West.
LaSalle moved to a newly renovated space on the third floor of Columbian Tower East.
Vincennes Orthopedics moved to a newly renovated space on the first floor of the Health Pavilion.
2019
Good Samaritan welcomes its first four Psychiatry Residents.
2020
Groundbreaking for Charles C. Hedde M.D. Health Education Center.
Good Samaritan responds to global COVID-19 pandemic.
Good Samaritan welcomes its first 26 Internal Medicine Residents.
Hospital purchases the former First Street Surgery Center at 300 N. First Street in Vincennes.
2021
Grand opening of Charles C. Hedde M.D. Health Education Center.
2022
Hospital purchases Bierhaus Building at 328 N. Second Street in Vincennes.
Moves Podiatry office into the building.
2024
First da Vinci robot-assisted surgery performed at Good Samaritan by OB/GYN
Dustin Blackwell, DO on January 24. The surgery was a hysterectomy.
