The region's leading health care Only at OSF Hero Image

For more than 145 years

OSF HealthCare has been here, innovating solutions to meet your changing needs, caring for the underserved and providing opportunities for people to develop and thrive professionally.

That feeling of knowing your neighbor has you covered, no matter what your health needs are – it’s available only at OSF.

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The OSF Difference

OSF HealthCare is devoted to serving with the greatest care and love. That means we never stop working to make your health care more effective, more accessible and easier to navigate. We have the most complete range of resources for your health in the Peoria area, and we’re always evolving.

Economic Impact

As Peoria’s largest employer, OSF provides competitive pay and benefits to every member of the OSF team. And with our growth comes the need for new facilities, prompting construction projects that improve services for the community and provide work for the construction trades.

As a leader in health care, OSF also attracts people to our region from all over. Whether it’s to get care they can’t get anywhere else or to learn about the latest innovations, OSF helps make the Peoria area into a destination. This helps bring revenue to local hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

Examples of economic impact

As an academic medical center, OSF Saint Francis trains and teaches the health care professionals of tomorrow. We provide several residency programs through a partnership with University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria.

We also provide opportunities for those who want to further their knowledge and develop the skills needed to succeed in health care. Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing educates and trains nurse graduates to be fully prepared for success with their certification exams and in future nursing career paths.

Our History

  • 1876

    Sister M. Frances Krasse and a handful of Sisters of the Fraternal Order of St. Francis arrive in Peoria to set up a hospital in a house on Adams Street.

  • 1905

    St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing opens to Sisters only. Thirteen years later, the school accepts applications from lay students.

  • 1951

    A first-of-its-kind surgery to repair the aorta of a 3-month-old is performed in Peoria

  • 1960

    OSF Saint Francis opens the first intensive care unit in Peoria.

  • 1967

    An OSF crew completes the first helicopter transport of a premature newborn in the nation.

  • 1972

    OSF Saint Francis is designated as the region’s trauma center.

  • 1973

    The first open heart surgery at OSF Saint Francis is performed.

  • 1976

    The first CT scan equipment in Peoria arrives at OSF Saint Francis.

  • 1980

  • 1982

    OSF Saint Francis makes national news for lifesaving treatment of the smallest patient – a premature baby weighing 1 lb., 12 oz.

  • 1984

    The first use of MRI in central Illinois occurs at OSF Saint Francis.

  • 1985

    The first kidney transplant in central Illinois is completed at OSF Saint Francis.

  • 1987

    Peoria’s first heart transplant is performed at OSF Saint Francis.

  • 1990

    Peoria’s first breast center opens at OSF Center for Health on Route 91.

    Children’s Hospital of Illinois is formed at OSF Saint Francis.

  • 1994

    OSF PromptCare starts seeing patients.

  • 1998

    Sisters' Community Health Care Center is opened to help the underserved in the south side of Peoria.

  • 2000

    The Jim and Trudy Maloof St. Jude clinic is relocated to OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois.  

    The first procedure to use stent grafts for an aortic aneurysm in central Illinois is performed at OSF Saint Francis.

    On February 15, a groundbreaking is held for RecPlex – later named RiverPlex – a joint effort between OSF Saint Francis and the Peoria Park District.

    The first transmyocardial revascularization, or TMR, in central Illinois is performed.

  • 2001

    Gamma Knife, a groundbreaking technology for neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists, is installed at OSF Saint Francis.
    The OSF Center for Health opens in north Peoria. It contains ambulatory surgery, lab, imaging, radiology, an OSF PromptCare, women's services and doctors' offices. 

  • 2002

    An OSF surgeon performs the area's first pancreas transplant and the first kidney-pancreas transplant two days later.

    Robotic-assisted surgery is introduced.

  • 2010

    Ten days of events surround the opening of the new OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois and OSF Saint Francis building. It’s the largest construction project in the history of Peoria up to this point.

  • 2017

    OSF Center for Health in Pekin opens its doors to patients.

    OSF takes over the former LR Nelson Company building and renames it the Franciscan Prairie building.

  • 2018

    Almost Home Kids – a division of OSF Children’s Hospital – opens its doors to families needing respite care or transitional care for their children with complex medical needs.

  • 2020

    OSF OnCall extends revolutionary digital health services and 24/7 virtual care.

    OSF Center for Health on Knoxville Avenue opens in the former Cub Foods building near the OSF Saint Francis campus.

  • 2021

    OSF HealthCare holds a groundbreaking for OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute. The location will be just the second center in Illinois offering proton beam therapy to treat patients, reducing treatment times, side effects and disruption in the lives of patients and caregivers.

  • 2022

    The new Ministry Headquarters in downtown Peoria opens for business in January.

    OSF HealthCare opens the OSF Transitional Care Hospital in downtown Peoria under a new venture with Kindred Hospitals.

  • 2024

    OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute opens its doors and brings innovative, cutting-edge technology to Peoria, including the region's only proton beam therapy, Phase-1 clinical trials and comprehensive support services.

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Empower Hope, Donate for a Cancer-Free Future

Your donation to OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute supports vital research for developing innovative research and treatments, providing financial assistance to patients and contributing to awareness and preventive measures. With your help and continued support, we have made and will continue to make Peoria and Central Illinois a destination for hope, healing and world-class treatment.

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