Chicago Hospital for Women and Children
Chicago Hospital for Women and Children, renamed Mary Thompson Hospital after its founder's death in 1895, was established in 1865 and provided medical care to indigent women and children as well as clinical training to women doctors. It was founded by Mary Harris Thompson, who received her degree in Boston in 1863 from the New England Female Medical College, the first medical school for women. Thompson established the hospital because of her inability to gain a position at Chicago's two hospitals (one of which refused admittance to women patients). The hospital treated the wives, widows, and children of Union soldiers and it was funded by donations.The hospital's objectives were:

To afford a home for women and children among the respectable poor in need of medical and surgical aid
To treat the same classes at home by an assistant physician
To afford a free dispensary for the same
To train competent nurses
An affiliated nursing school was established in 1871. The hospital building was totally destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871 and temporary accommodations were set up quickly to deal with the aftermath.