1896
Bethesda Inc. traces its roots to 1896, when seven German Methodist deaconesses began to offer home-based care for Cincinnati’s sick and poor.
1905
The deaconesses open their first maternity building adjacent to the hospital.
1915
The name Bethesda is first used to reflect the growing awareness of the hospital’s importance in serving the many different people who came there to heal and be healed. Bethesda’s nursing school also is accredited.
1916
Scarlet Oaks opens, first as a hospital and retirement community, then later focused exclusively on serving the community’s elderly.
1920
Bethesda opens the Strecker Hospital for Children with a 30-bed capacity devoted exclusively to pediatric care.
1926
Bethesda opens a new medical and surgical hospital on Oak Street with 159 beds. Motivated by function and economy, the Strecker Hospital for Children is consolidated to the hospital’s fifth floor.
1970
Bethesda North Hospital opens as the first community satellite hospital in Greater Cincinnati. Today, it is among the largest acute and tertiary care hospitals in the Cincinnati region. It offers a comprehensive range of services from award-winning heart care to maternity services and a 24-hour emergency room to residents of northern Cincinnati and Warren, Butler and Clermont counties.
1974
The Bethesda Foundation is formed to ensure that Bethesda’s hospital operations and related entities have the resources needed to meet the health care challenges facing the large, growing Greater Cincinnati population.
1976
Bethesda opens Greater Cincinnati’s first freestanding outpatient surgery center.
1977
Hospice of Cincinnati is founded by Bethesda as Southwest Ohio’s largest, oldest and only non-for-profit hospice, focused on fulfilling the growing and evolving end-of-life needs of the community. Its affiliate program, Fernside, was established in 1986 as one of the nation’s first children’s grief centers. Today, it remains a national leader in providing grief support services and outreach and education to the community.
1980
The Bethesda Warren County Emergency Center opens a freestanding 24-hour emergency treatment center near Lebanon. It is believed to be the first such freestanding facility opened by a Cincinnati-based hospital.
1983
The Bethesda Hospital and Deaconess Association adopt a new name: Bethesda Inc.
1984
Bethesda acquires what would become Consolidated Health Services Inc. (CHS), which grew to 30 locations in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. CHS includes American Nursing Care, which provides home health services; Patient Transport Services, offering non-emergency patient transportation; AmeriMed, offering home infusion therapy; and Cornerstone Medical, a joint venture that sells durable medical equipment.
1987
The Bethesda Fertility Center was founded as Cincinnati’s first fertility center and continues to lead the TriState in new technologies and IVF success rates that consistently surpass national averages. Board-certified physicians and a sophisticated Reproductive Studies Lab combine to offer the region’s most recognized team of compassionate infertility experts. The Fertility Center was acquired by the Institute for Reproductive Health in 2024.
1995
Bethesda Inc. becomes one of two joint sponsors of TriHealth, the other being Catholic Health Initiatives, based in Denver. TriHealth’s more than 12,000 employees meet the health needs of Greater Cincinnatians through an integrated network that includes Bethesda North and Good Samaritan hospitals, physician groups, ambulatory facilities, adult care, fitness and wellness offerings, hospice care, and community outreach.
1996
Bethesda celebrates its 100-year anniversary.
2010
Bethesda Inc. sells Consolidated Health Services to Catholic Health Initiatives. Bethesda Inc. also announces its new strategic plan and its first major community grants, launching its grantmaking initiative, known today as bi3.
2017
Bethesda Inc. names its grant initiative “bi3” (Bethesda–Investments—Ideas—Impact) to honor the Bethesda legacy while identifying its unique role in transforming community health.
2023
bi3 celebrates $100M in awarded grants to the community and partner TriHealth.