St. Joseph's Hospital, in Hancock, Michigan, was founded in 1899 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet of St. Louis, Missouri, at the request of Bishop Frederick Eis of the Diocese of Marquette. The original building, formerly the home of the father of Bishop John Vertin, was located on Hancock Street and was occupied until 1904. The new, five-story hospital was located on Water Street. By 1949, this brick and sandstone structure of the Renaissance style with pillared entrance was no longer adequate and a new building was built on Michigan Street. The new building was dedicated in 1951 by Bishop Thomas Noa. St. Joseph's Hospital became known as St. Joseph's Community Hospital in 1972 when a local board of trustees was organized in the mutual interest of the hospital and the community. By 1976 the Sisters of St. Joseph expressed their desire to end their ownership and administration of the hospital. St. Joseph's Community Hospital became Portage View Hospital. Several areas of the building were remodeled with work on the ER, CICU, Surgery and OB units. By 1995 Portage View Hospital became Portage Health System and announced that Portage Health System would build a new health care facility on Quincy Hill. The new medical campus admitted its first patients in 2000. In addition to inpatient care facilities such as the Ambulatory Care Unit, Tepka Surgery Center, Family Birthing Center and 24-hour Emergency Department, the new campus houses Portage Health Medical Group and Portage OB/GYN and Marquette Medical Clinic as well as an on-site pharmacy, diagnostic unit and dialysis center. In addition to the service provided by St. Joseph's Hospital, the School of Nursing was organized in 1920 to provide an educational opportunity in nursing for young women of the area. In 1923, the first graduating class of four nurses held commencement exercises at the Kerredge Theater. Official approval was given by the Michigan Board of Nursing in 1923 and in 1929 the first nurses' residence was erected. The school offered a diploma program in professional nursing and was accredited by the National League for Nursing. In 1944 an affiliation was secured with the Michigan College of Mining and Technology (now Michigan Technological University) in order to offer courses in the laboratory and social sciences. The seniors also spent six weeks at the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago where they took special courses in pediatrics, medical disease nursing and dietetics. In 1975, a new program of nursing was provided by Michigan Technological University and St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing was officially dissolved. A total of 692 students graduated from the School of Nursing during its 54 years of existence.