Our Video

The people of Arizona have trusted the care and commitment of St.
Joseph's for over 110 years.

St. Joseph's Milestones:

• First hospital in the Valley (1895)
• First School of Nursing in Arizona (1910)
• First Maternity Department in Phoenix (1916)
• First hospital-based Pathology Laboratory (1920)
• First organized Hospital Medical Staff (1921)
• First hospital in the State to receive accreditation from the American College of Surgeons (1923)
• First Pediatric Department in Phoenix (1928)
• First hospital in Arizona to be approved for an internship (1934)
• First Seizure Clinic in Arizona (1954)
• First Kidney Dialysis in Arizona (1956)
• First Neuroscience Center in the Southwest (1962)
• First Coronary Care Unit in the Southwest (1964)
• First hospital-based Mental Health Center in Arizona (1964)
• First Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Arizona (1966)
• First Computerized EKG Program in Arizona (1967)
• First hospital-based Drug Abuse Program in Arizona (1968)
• First Respiratory Intensive Care Unit in Arizona (1968)
• First Genetic Counseling Services in Arizona (1969)
• First Hemophilia Referral Center in Arizona (1969)
• First Medical Emergency Assistance Program in Arizona (1970, prelude to 9-1-1)
• First Department of Reproductive Medicine in Arizona (1971)
• First Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Arizona (1972)
• First Perinatal Laboratory in Arizona (1973)
• First Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) scanner in Phoenix (1975)
• First computerized perinatal data base system in Arizona (one of few in U.S. (1975)
• First hospital-based hospice program, the Oncology Life Enrichment Program (1979)
• First Make-A-Wish in the world granted at St. Joseph’s (1980)
• First hospital-based plasmapheresis service in Arizona (1980)
• First Multiple Sclerosis Clinic in the Valley (1981)
• One of the first four hospitals in the United States to install a Linear Accelerator for cancer treatment (1982)
• First Level I Trauma Center in Arizona rated for both neuro and trauma cases (1983)
• First Stroke Unit in Arizona (1983)
• First hospital-affiliated Alternative Birthing Center in Phoenix (1983)
• First hospital to have quadruplets born in Phoenix (1984)
• First heart transplant in the Valley (1984)
• First heart-lung transplant in Arizona (1984)
• First hospital to install a lithotripter in Arizona - one of 10 in U.S. (1985)
• First Trauma Research Laboratory in Arizona (1986)
• First of three hospitals in the United States to offer a Pediatric Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (1987)
• Only hospital in the Arizona visited by Pope John Paul II (1987)
• First Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in the Valley (1988)
• First Trauma Center in Arizona with Level I verification from the American College of Surgeons (1992)
• First cardiac standstill surgery on an expectant mother (1995)
• First Maternal Outreach Mobile Clinic to provide prenatal care in the Valley (1995)
• First Gamma Knife Center in the Southwest (1997)
• Established Arizona’s first and only DNA Diagnostics Laboratory, which allows researchers to take basic scientific findings and apply them to clinical care (1999)
• Identified the gene that causes the inherited form of cerebral cavernous malformations (1999)
• First hospital-based program in the Southwest for children with developmental and behavioral, mental or emotional disorders (2000)
• First Muscular Dystrophy/ALS Center in Arizona (2001)
• First hospital in the Valley with fetal pulse oximeter (2001)
• First Thoracic Disease Center in Arizona (2003)
• First Oral Health Collaborative in Arizona (2003)
• First Hypothalamic Hamartoma Center in the United States (2003)
• First Cyberknife in the Southwest (2003)