St. Joseph Hospital (Lexington, KY)

The hospital was in operation in 1877, when the five Sisters of Charity arrived in October of that year. Though the hospital was segregated, there was a separate building for African Americans, and "a few women of disreputable character were also housed in a separate area." Sister Euphrasia Stafford was the administrator of the hospital for the first 40 years. She was a great supporter of Dr. John E. Hunter, the first African American physician in Lexington. Hunter, who was from Virginia, was a surgeon at the hospital for 63 years, arriving in 1889. For more see A story of Saint Joseph Hospital Lexington, Kentucky: the first 120 years, 1877-1997, by F. Krumpelman.