Lafayette Home Hospital
Lafayette Home Hospital was a 270‑bed hospital in Lafayette, Indiana. It was owned by Franciscan Health, a non‑profit organization. The hospital stopped all medical services on February 25, 2010.
The hospital began as The Home for the Friendless, a place that cared for homeless people near the current Franciscan Health Lafayette Central campus. In November 1894, the board decided to turn the home into a hospital and renamed it City Hospital, though locals kept calling it Home. Lafayette Home Hospital was officially incorporated on June 16, 1895, with 21 local residents serving on the board. The community contributed supplies, funds, and land to help the hospital grow.
The first patient was Miss Mary Smith. The early hospital had one nurse, an assistant who also helped with housekeeping, and a cook. It could treat eight patients and felt more like a home where staff and patients were a family.
In 1898, the board bought land at 24th and South streets, across from Columbian Park, to build a new hospital. The site included a farm house that became part of the hospital. In 1901, John P. Kile donated funds and built a two‑story brick building in memory of his wife, Elizabeth. This became the Kile Building, with room for 24 patients and administration. A third floor was added in 1905. Mrs. Charles B. Stuart later donated the rest of the block, expanding the property to 25th Street. The Kile Building was used for many years, until it was demolished in 1981.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, the community continued supporting the hospital, helping it grow and improve.
In the mid‑1950s, leaders planned a future expansion. In 1959, a campaign called HEALTH: Help Enlarge Adequately Lafayette's Two Hospitals aimed to add 100 beds at Home Hospital and 100 beds at St. Elizabeth, along with equipment and space for services. The effort highlighted a growing need for hospital facilities due to population growth, new industries, and Purdue University students. The plan included a new four‑story wing, a bigger lobby, emergency department, and expanded laboratories and rooms at Home Hospital.
Tech advances and new services came in the 1970s, including the launch of a neonatal intensive care unit in July 1975. By then, the hospital had about 365 beds and received substantial support from volunteers and the community.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, the hospital continued to modernize and expand, adding new front entries, patient rooms, and parking. In 1984, a restructuring created North Central Health Services (NCHS) as the parent company for Home Hospital and related ventures.
To prepare for the future, Home Hospital remodeled in 1990 for its 100th anniversary. In 1997, Home Hospital and St. Elizabeth merged under a new system called Greater Lafayette Health Services (GLHS) to improve efficiency and avoid waste. The two hospitals officially merged on January 1, 1999.
In 2005, GLHS announced plans to close Home Hospital and replace it with a new facility on Lafayette’s southeast side, while St. Elizabeth would stay open for critical care. Construction began in late 2006, with occupancy planned for December 2009. Lafayette Home Hospital closed in February 2010. The property was sold in 2012 to an Indianapolis‑based group, Columbian Park Redevelopment LLC, and the building was demolished in 2013.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:32 (CET).