In 1908, St. Joseph Hospital was founded by Monsignor Henri Milette, pastor of the St. Louis de Gonzague Parish, under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, “Grey Nuns”. The goal was to serve Nashua’s French-Canadian community.
With reverence for the poor and vulnerable, the hospital committed itself to hope and healing in the spirit of the Grey Nuns and their foundress, St. Marguerite d’Youville, and to spreading the good news of God’s intrinsic love to all. The hospital was dedicated on May 1, 1908, at the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. The sisters also opened St. Joseph School of Nursing that same year.
In 1967, the original hospital was demolished, and a new facility was built. In 1976, Milford Medical Center, a satellite facility in Milford, New Hampshire, opened and the following year another satellite location opened in Merrimack, New Hampshire. In 2000, the hospital’s Breast Care Center relocated to a new space in the hospital, providing Nashua with the first facility to offer comprehensive breast care in a single location. By 2008, St. Joseph Hospital was celebrating 100 years of dedicated and compassionate service to the community.