St. Elizabeth Central is a 155-bed hospital in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, owned by the not-for-profit St. Elizabeth Regional Health, a division of the Franciscan Alliance, Inc.
St. Elizabeth Central opened when six members of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration left their home in Germany in 1875 in order to commit their lives to caring for the sick in Lafayette, Indiana. The hospital opened in 1876, and in 1897, the St. Elizabeth School of Nursing was launched. Today, the St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus includes comprehensive patient care facilities and the only hospital-based nursing school in the state of Indiana.
In 1998, operation of Home Hospital and St. Elizabeth Central merged under an equal partnership known as Greater Lafayette Health Services (GLHS). Each hospital retained its long-established identity and traditions.
In 2003, the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc., founders and continuous owners of St. Elizabeth Central, became the sole owners of the non-profit corporation, its two hospitals and related patient care facilities.
GLHS was the corporate name used since 2003, but from the beginning, the plan was to find a name that would better express our purpose, commitment and roots. So in 2007, GLHS was officially changed to St. Elizabeth Regional Health, linking us more closely to our mission and focusing on excellence in patient care and community service.
Greater Lafayette Health Services announced in late 2005 a plan to close Home Hospital, and construct a new facility to replace them on the city's southeast side. St. Elizabeth Central will remain open for critical patient care. Work on the new facility commenced in late 2006, with occupation planned to occur in December 2009. Plans for how the St. Elizabeth Central campus will be used once the new hospital is complete are still being considered.
In June 2009, the hospital was renamed St. Elizabeth Central as part of the expanded reuse plan for the facility. The St. Elizabeth Central name allows the community – including hospital employees, volunteers, physicians and physician office staff members – an opportunity to better identify each hospital campus location.
As part of St. Elizabeth Regional Health’s ongoing maintenance and continuous improvement of its medical facilities, St. Elizabeth Central has benefited from nearly $11 million worth of enhancements from 2004 to 2009. In total, almost $5 million has been invested in maintenance and repair to existing buildings on the St. Elizabeth Central campus, and more than $6 million for renovations and upgrades to St. Elizabeth Central including:
* Pharmacy, * Physical therapy and outpatient therapy facilities, * Seton Specialty Hospital renovations, * Hospice relocation within the Bill Long Building, * Chapel renovations and * Relocations, upgrades, demolitions, replacement of carpet and furnishings and remodels.
The Roman Catholic chapel at St. Elizabeth's has Eucharistic Adoration, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Masses are held Monday through Friday at 7:00 AM, and at 9:00 AM on Saturdays, Sundays and Holy Days.