UMC remembering nearly 300 years of Charity Hospital with ’50 days of Charity’ campaign

Kenny Lopez
·2 min read

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Charity Hospital is celebrating a milestone, nearly 300 years since it opened its doors.

The old building is no longer in use, but University Medical Center is carrying on the spirit of charity with several doctors and nurses from the old Charity.

Now, UMC is starting a new campaign to celebrate “50 Days of Charity.”

“You talk about Charity like it is a building. I don’t. I think of Charity like a spirit,” Dr. Peter DeBlieux with University Medical Center said.

For DeBlieux, who started working at Charity in 1984, the spirit of Charity Hospital lives on even though the old building is closed and their new facility nearby is University Medical Center.

“The spirit moved over,” DeBlieux said.

He’s one of countless doctors and nurses who worked at Charity Hospital before it closed because of Hurricane Katrina.

“I was there for Katrina and actually the one who locked the doors forever,” he said.

He went on to say, “At the time I had no understanding that would be the last time we’d see patients at the facility.”

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Nurse Bridget Gardner also worked at Charity beginning in 1992.

“I think if I had to summarize it for you, it was taking the most vulnerable populations. I was able to make a difference in their lives and provide something they might not have had if they didn’t come to our facility,” she said.

Stories like the ones Gardner and DeBlieux have from their time at Charity is what UMC is wanting to hear and reflect on as part of their new campaign, “50 Days of Charity.”

“Countdown of 50 days until May 10, which is the 288th anniversary of when the original Charity was built in 1736, so imagine that. It is pre-United States formation,” CEO of University Medical Center John Nickens said.

Nickens said that Charity Hospital was more than a building, and it really put unity in community.

“It really is the foundation of New Orleans, the history and heritage of New Orleans.”

Now that’s the spirit!

If you were born in Charity Hospital or were a patient at Charity Hospital and would like to share your story, please reach out to University Medical Center on social media.

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