Our History
The Gillette Children's Story
Historical Benchmarks
GilletteTimeline
We Hold This Treasure by Dr. Steven Koop
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The Gillette Children's Story
Gillette Children's story began more than 100 years ago when a young doctor in St. Paul decided to specialize in orthopedic surgery to correct children's disabilities caused by deformities of bone and muscle. The need was so great, Dr. Arthur Gillette teamed up with Jessie Haskins, a young woman who had a disability. Together, they persuaded the Minnesota Legislature to publicly fund a hospital dedicated solely to the treatment of children with disabilities.
For more than a century, our dedicated staff and young patients are responsible for making Gillette the special place it is today. Gillette Children's is always changing to meet the needs of children, adolescents and young adults, providing medical treatment and technology to care for children with disabilities and chronic conditions.
Our challenge for the future and beyond is to give these people with disabilities and chronic conditions more freedom than ever before. We'll do this with the most advanced healthcare we know, and by working with families and communities so our patients can become active citizens.
Historical Benchmarks
1897 -- Founded by Dr. Arthur Gillette and Jessie Haskins as the first publicly financed hospital
dedicated to the care of children who have disabilities.
1911 -- Patients move to Minnesota State Hospital for Indigent, Crippled and Deformed Children, a new
facility built on 23 acres in Phalen Park in St. Paul, Minnesota.
1925 -- Renamed Gillette State Hospital for Crippled Children in memory of Dr. Arthur Gillette.
1971 -- Renamed Gillette Children's Hospital.
1973 -- Gillette Children's Hospital becomes a public nonprofit organization under the executive branch
of the state of Minnesota.
1975 -- Gillette Children's becomes a self-supporting organization. (Operating budget is no longer a
state appropriation and individuals and third-party payers begin paying for services.)
1977-- Gillette Children's moves to current facility at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
1989 -- Gillette Children's becomes a private nonprofit organization.
1996 -- Gillette Children's Hospital is renamed Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare.
1997 -- Centennial Celebrations!
