How We Began

The House of Providence

The House of Providence began in 1869 as a refuge for unwed mothers and orphans. When it moved to brand new quarters on West Grand Boulevard in 1910, the maternity hospital and children’s home added general hospital services. And Providence Hospital was born. 

Although the facility was originally intended to be a maternity hospital and children’s home, there was at the time a great need for hospital beds in the city of Detroit.

Because the new facility was serving that acute need for hospital beds, it soon became known as “Providence Hospital,” even though it actually operated under the House of Providence charter.

The Hospital on the Boulevard

The new facility was officially commissioned as a hospital on April 7, 1910, and, in 1922, Providence Hospital was incorporated separately.

Both House and Hospital used the West Grand Boulevard building. Reports of the number of beds at opening vary from 500 to 600.

The grand, castle-like structure was quite elegant, with arched ceilings, ornate pillars and inlaid floors. The facility also featured a beautiful chapel and sun gallery at the rear of the building, overlooking a courtyard.

The first medical staff consisted of 40 physicians, providing surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, ENT and laboratory services. The new hospital also paved the way for the opening of Providence School of Nursing, which operated until 1975, when the last class of nursing students graduated.

The Move to Southfield...

In the mid-1950s, there began an expansion of population into communities in south Oakland County. Committed to providing services in the communities where our patients live, Providence Hospital in 1955 purchased 22 acres of land on 9 Mile Road near Greenfield Road. Construction of the new Providence Hospital began in 1962, and three years later, in 1965, the nearly $13 million facility opened its doors for service.

As the population continued to expand further north and west into Oakland County, there was a need to provide health services in those growing communities. Responding to the need for outpatient primary and specialty care services, Providence eventually opened outpatient facilities in South Lyon, Farmington Hills, Livonia, Milford and Novi.

... and then to Novi

In 1992, Providence expanded services into the Novi community with the development and opening of Providence Park. The facility, located on Grand River and Beck Roads, offered a variety of outpatient services, including surgery, 24-hour emergency care, diagnostic and laboratory services, a pharmacy and several dozen physician offices.

Becoming Part of St. John Providence Health System

In 1999, Providence Hospital joined St. John Providence Health System, and became a part of one of the largest health care systems serving metropolitan Detroit.

Rooted in the past, but always mindful of the future, Providence and St. John Providence Health System in 2006 began construction of Providence Park Hospital, on the grounds of the existing Novi outpatient center. In 2008, the community and the hospital celebrated the opening of a second Providence location in Oakland County.