The problem of caring for the weak and sick members of society has existed from the very earliest times. But the idea of hospitals is a new one in the history of man.

The Greeks, for instance, had no public institutions for the sick. Some of their doctors maintained surgeries where they could carry on their work, but they were very small, and only one patient could be treated at a time. The Romans, in time of war, established infirmaries, which were used to treat sick and injured soldiers. Later on, infirmaries were founded in the larger cities and were supported out of public funds.

In a way, the Roman influence was responsible for the establishment of hospitals. As Christianity grew, the care of the sick became the duty of the Church. During the Middle Ages monasteries and convents provided most of the hospitals. Monks and nuns were the nurses.

The custom of making pilgrimages to religious shrines also helped advance the idea of hospitals. These pilgrimages were often long, and the travelers had to stop overnight at small inns along the road. These inns were called hospitalia, or guest houses, from the Latin word hospes, meaning “a guest.” The inns connected with the monasteries devoted themselves to caring for travelers who were ill or lame or weary. In this way the name “hospital” became connected with caring for the afflicted!

Since living conditions during the Middle Ages were not very comfortable or hygienic, the hospitals of those days were far from being clean or orderly. In fact, many a hospital would put two or more patients in the same bed!

During the seventeenth century, there was a general improvement in living conditions. People began to feel that it was the duty of the state to care for its ailing citizens. But it wasn’t until the eighteenth century that public hospitals became general in the larger towns of England. Soon, the idea of public hospitals began to spread, and they appeared all over Europe.

In North America, the first hospital was built by Cortes in Mexico City in 1524. Among the British colonies, the first hospital was estate fished by the East India Company on Manhattan Island in 1663.