Built in 1915, what was then known as Wesley Hospital was designed by popular Kansas City architects Keene & Simpson. Their design included solariums at the east end of the upper four floors. There was also an attached three story building for a nurses' dormitory with a sun deck on the roof. The United States War Department took over the hospital in 1943 and used it for training military personnel. Kansas City College of Osteopathy and Surgery purchased the 100 bed property in June 1944 for $116,000. Conley Hospital was then converted to a maternity hospital and the facility at 11th and Harrison was the primary teaching hospital for the college until 1972 when University Hospital opened.
The Cancer Detection Center occupied the annex facing Harrison Street.
The moving of patients from Osteopathic Hospital to the new Center for Health Sciences (University Hospital) began at 9:00 a.m. on September 8, 1972. Eight ambulances from four different ambulance companies transferred the patients escorted by the Kansas City Police Department. By 10:30 all 36 patients had been delivered to the new hospital without incident.
After taking just an hour and a half to transport all the patients from Osteopathic Hospital to the new Center for Health Sciences, the iconic front door was posted with a sign reading "Osteopathic Hospital is closed. Patients will be seen at the Center for Health Sciences."
The D'Angelo Library Archive includes this guestbook from the opening of Osteopathic Hospital on September 3rd and 4th, 1944. It is filled with signatures, telegrams, and cards from many alumni and osteopaths from all over the United States.
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