September 14, 2009 - San Jose, CA – O’Connor Hospital will hold a 120th birthday celebration on October 11, 2009 from 1:30 to 3:30pm. Anyone born at O’Connor Hospital is invited to attend. A reflection, live music, and light refreshments are planned. “We are thrilled to share our celebration with the community and hope many O’Connor babies will attend” says Elizabeth Nikels, Vice President of Communications for the Daughters of Charity Health System (DCHS).

 O’Connor Hospital opened its doors in 1889 as a sanitarium for the sick, a home for the aged, an asylum for the orphans and a school for children. It was quickly determined that the greatest need in the county was for a hospital and home for the elderly and needy. The Daughters of Charity from Emmitsburg, Maryland were called in to manage the new San Jose Sanitarium and Home.

Following the April 18, 1906 earthquake, the partially-destroyed two-story brick hospital, along with its dedicated staff, served as a beacon of hope for the community. Post World War II brought a building and population boom to Santa Clara Valley. O’Connor Sanitarium moved with the times, literally. Renamed O’Connor Hospital in 1944, the facility moved to its present site on Forest Avenue in 1953. Funding for the new 300-bed, $6 million hospital was raised by the community.

Today, O’Connor Hospital continues its rich heritage story as a full-service, acute care community hospital. Sponsored by the Daughters of Charity Health System, which includes five other health care facilities throughout the state, the not-for-profit hospital boasts more than 1,600 employees, 600 medical staff members, and 300 volunteers. With 358 licensed beds, the hospital provides a way of caring that treats the whole person: mind, body and spirit.

 If you were born at O’Connor Hospital and would like to attend please call the Foundation Office at 947-2717 for more information.