On this day in 1952, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital first opened its doors to all children in need in the Bluff City.
Originally named after the Le Bonheur Club that started ministering to children at the Leath Orphanage in 1923, the club would team up with the Pediatric Society to create a hospital dedicated solely to children, after successfully raising $2 million to get the project started.
In the words of the Le Bonheur Club’s President in 1952, Mrs. Howard Pritchard, as she released red balloons with keys to the hospital attached, “The doors of Le Bonheur will never be found closed and will forever hereafter be open to those who come in need, seeking its help.”
