Our History
By a generous clause in her will, Ellen A. Winsor bequeathed the hilltop Victorian mansion of her parents, James and Adah Sturdy, to the town of Attleboro to be used for a general hospital at the time of her passing. Mrs. Winsor also placed the remainder of her estate in a permanent trust fund in order for its income to be used exclusively for the hospital's maintenance and development. She had no way of knowing her gift would continue to positively impact the lives of thousands of people living in Southeast Massachusetts and neighboring Rhode Island more than a century later.
The location for the hospital was ideal. However, the cost to prepare the property for a modern hospital was more than town officials felt comfortable asking its citizens to appropriate. As a result, a not-for-profit corporation organized under Massachusetts law was formed and called the Attleborough Hospital.
The corporation offered to take the property and simple wood frame house and renovate it, build new additions, erect a modern operating wing and equip the whole plant.
On April 14, 1913, Sturdy Memorial Hospital opened its doors as a modest 15-bed facility inside James and Adah Sturdy’s former mansion. Since that time, countless volunteers, physicians, providers, nurses and other team members, along with community donors and leaders, have built upon the legacy that Ms. Winsor began. Like Ms. Winsor, these countless individuals have given their time, treasure and talents to ensure Sturdy would be here to care for the community for generations to come.
Sturdy in Our Commitment to Continue Serving Future Generations
In April 2023, Sturdy Memorial Hospital celebrated 110 years of caring for the people of Southeast Massachusetts and neighboring Rhode Island. Over the past 110 years, we have deepened our investment in our community and expanded our footprint exponentially. Sturdy has evolved from a community hospital into a thriving health system—Sturdy Health—including a 128-bed acute care hospital and 26 primary care and specialty care practices.
By evolving the name of our health system from Sturdy Memorial Hospital to Sturdy Health, we took the first step forward in our multiyear, transformative journey that will unify and expand the services we offer and improve the experience we provide to our patients, physicians, providers and team members. It will allow us to grow our health system’s footprint in our region and meet our community’s health and wellness needs right here, right now, and for generations to come.
