L'histoire de Sturdy Health
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 as a general hospital. Mrs. Winsor also placed the remainder of her estate in a permanent trust fund, with the income dedicated to the hospital’s maintenance and development. She could not have known that her generosity would help shape a healthcare organization that would continue caring for generations of families throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and neighboring Rhode Island.
The location for the hospital was ideal, but the cost to transform the property into a modern hospital was more than town officials felt comfortable asking citizens to fund. In response, a nonprofit corporation organized under Massachusetts law was formed and named Attleborough Hospital.
The corporation accepted the property and the simple wood-frame house, renovating the building, adding new wings, constructing an operating area, and equipping the facility to meet the community’s healthcare needs.
On avril 14, 1913, Sturdy Memorial Hospital opened its doors as a modest 15-bed facility inside James and Adah Sturdy’s former mansion. Since then, generations of volunteers, physicians, providers, nurses, team members, community leaders, and donors have built upon Ellen Winsor’s vision through their time, talents, and support, helping Sturdy grow into the health system it is today.
More than a century after opening our doors, Sturdy Health continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve. What began as a small community hospital has grown into an independent, nonprofit health system that includes a 142-bed acute care hospital, emergency and urgent care, primary care, specialty care, and a growing network of services designed to keep high-quality healthcare close to home.
As our communities grow and healthcare continues to evolve, so do we.
Sturdy Health is investing in new facilities, advanced technology, and expanded services to improve access, strengthen patient experience, and ensure our communities have the care they need.
Investments like the Specialty Care Building, which brings multiple specialty services together under one roof, and the expansion of our Emergency Department, designed to increase capacity, improve patient access flow, and better serve the growing needs of our region. Together, these investments reflect our commitment to providing coordinated, compassionate care close to home.
Through every chapter of our history, Sturdy Health has remained guided by the same purpose that inspired Ellen Winsor’s gift more than a century ago: ensuring that high-quality, compassionate care is available to every person who turns to us, today and for generations to come.