A Catholic hospital had long been a hope for the people of Schenectady – its earliest known reference, correspondence between church officials in New York City and Albany, dating back to 1917. But for one reason or another - money and land, to name just two - interest in and support for the hospital never gained momentum.

Its ultimate rise was due in no small part to the efforts of the late Barney Fowler, a renowned area journalist and Frank Dickershaid, retired roofing contractor. Taking note of the growing industrial strength of Schenectady and its related population boom, Dickershaid and Fowler knew the time was at hand to bring this project to fruition.

In 1942, they approached the offices of Albany’s Bishop Edmund Gibbons and were advised "that petitions, bearing the signatures of at least 20,000 persons," would be indicative of sufficient interest, "to get things going."

The petition was crafted, printed and distributed throughout Schenectady and within six weeks, 25,000 names had been gathered.

Seven years passed, however, before the dream was realized. World War II was fought and won and two fund drives launched before St. Clare’s Hospital opened its doors Sept. 1, 1949 under the auspices of the Albany Catholic Diocese and the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.

Included among the many descriptions about St. Clare’s is one of its most beloved.

These buildings do no rest upon a foundation of cement and sand but upon the solid rock of love and faith. Its corridors are filled with whispered prayers. There is a soft and tranquil beauty in its pastel colored walls and the hush of peace about its business of healing.

Historic Milestones at St. Clare's Hospital

The 1950s:

• A dental clinic for children from low-income households was established and served as the forerunner of the hospital's present-day Dental Health Center.
• The Capital District's second accredited school of x-ray technology opened in 1954 and two decades later was transferred to Hudson Valley Community College. Radiologic technology students continue to undergo their clinical training at St. Clare's.
• The region's first post-operative recovery room opened at St. Clare's.

The 1960s:

• St. Clare’s introduces a Candystriper Program for teenage girls
• Region’s first electronic dictating system installed
• Interns quarters, Monsignor Keane Pavilion and hospital auditorium constructed
• Inhalation therapy and respiratory department established
• One of the area’s first coronary care units is opened

The 1970s

• The Dental Residency Program is established.
• Northeastern New York's first Family Practice Residency Program is established and with it, the Family Health Center for low income and medically indigent families.
• A two-story house on the hospital campus is donated to the fledgling Hospice program, and served as its headquarters for the next 13 years.

The 1980s

• St. Clare's Hospital was linked via telephone lines to the Lake Placid Winter Olympics to transmit EKG data.
• A microsurgical microscope was used for the first time in Schenectady to reattach five severed fingers to a young man's hand.
• A laser surgical suite for eyes was established.
• Diabetic insulin pumps were introduced to the Capital District.
• The region's first cardiac rehabilitation center opened
• The area's first in-home laboratory service was developed.
• The first of St. Clare's medical arts buildings was constructed.

The 1990s

• A state-of-the-art Critical Care Area is completed.
• The second medical arts building opened, home to the Capital District Dialysis Center, St. Clare's Child Care Center and the cardiac rehabilitation center.
• An inpatient dialysis unit opened.
• The Family Birthing Center and Mother-Baby Unit are completed.
• A third on-campus building, named in honor of hospital trustee James Cushing and his late wife, Maureen O'Sullivan Cushing, was constructed.
• Schenectady's only open MRI was acquired.
• Inpatient Hospice Unit was opened.
• The Surgical Center was constructed aided by a $6.5 million capital campaign.
• Healthy Schenectady Families is instituted.
• The Sleep Disorders Center opened.
• A new Gastroenterology Unit is completed.
• All nursing units are refurbished.
• The Cleft Palate Center opened.

2000

• New Emergency Department unveiled
• Region’s most advanced Angiography Suite opens
• World-class CT Scanner unveiled.
• Parish nurse project launched with St. Luke’s.

2001

• Cafeteria/Kitchen redesign in planning stage.
• Laboratory renovations completed.
• New information systems under review.