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Saint Raphael Healthcare System
1450 Chapel Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06511
(203) 789-3000
Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth

Saint Raphael's history

Saint Raphael's is a 511-bed community teaching hospital affiliated with Yale University School of Medicine. The Hospital was founded in 1907 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, who continue as its sponsors.

The Sisters came to New Haven to start the hospital at the request of a group of local physicians, led by Dr. William F. Verdi. The doctors asked the Sisters of Charity to administer a hospital that would be open to all members of the medical profession and would "receive and care for all patients without regard to race, creed or color; to extend charity to the sick and poor and needy." Saint Raphael's continues this special mission today.

The name "Saint Raphael" was chosen for special reasons. Saint Raphael is not just a saint of the Catholic Church, but is one of the archangels recognized by many faiths. Translated from the Hebrew, Raphael means "God has healed." The archangel Raphael is revered as a patron of the sick and healing.

Almost 100 years since its founding, the hospital has evolved into the Saint Raphael Healthcare System, an integrated delivery system offering a comprehensive array of services dedicated to the health and well-being of residents of Greater New Haven and beyond.

Click here for a pictorial timeline of the first century.

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