About us

CHI St. Anthony is a 25-bed, faith-based acute care hospital and health care campus serving the Pendleton, OR area for more than 100 years. We are committed to the highest quality of patient care and safety, and to strengthening our community through wellness education. CHI St. Anthony is part of CommonSpirit Health.

Our mission statement

As CommonSpirit Health, we make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

Our vision

A healthier future for all – inspired by faith, driven by innovation, and powered by our humanity.

Our core values

Compassion

We show care with listening, empathy, and love and accompany and comfort those in need of healing.

Inclusion

We celebrate each person's gifts and voice and respect the dignity of all.

Integrity

We inspire trust through honesty and demonstrate courage in the face of inequity.

Excellence

We serve with fullest passion, creativity, and stewardship, and exceed expectations of others and ourselves.

Collaboration

We commit to the power of working together while building and nurturing meaningful relationships.

Our history

During the early years of Umatilla County, the average life expectancy was little more than half of what it is today. Disease was the rule rather than the exception, and by and large, doctors were so scarce that people who came down with an illness or injury had to "tough it out." Among the first to bring health care to the county were the Catholic sisters, who in the early 1880s opened their doors to all who needed help.

A hospital was the dream of Mother Stanislaus, who one day received a check for $250 from Dr. F.W. Vincent. He suggested that she find others who would match his gift to help start a building fund. Mother Stanislaus received $8,000 from the community to go toward this dream. Ground was broken in the spring of 1901, and the original hospital was dedicated in 1902 at the cost of $75,000.

About the Sisters of St. Francis

St. Anthony Hospital was founded in 1902 by The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, a community of Catholic women who commit their lives to God as followers of Sts. Francis and Clare. We strive to live in loving relationships and service with all people and creation. We are dedicated to bringing hope and joy to those in need by promoting justice and peace with emphasis on human rights and environmental concerns in our daily encounters.

Typhoid was the cause of many admissions to the hospital in the early days. In the summer and winter of 1906, there were outbreaks because of flooding in the lower part of the city.

In 1909, a school of nursing was opened at St. Anthony Hospital. Many of the guest lecturers were physicians who attended patients in the hospital. The school for nurses operated until 1955.

The crowded conditions revealed the need to expand, and plans for a new addition were formulated. Ground was broken in the spring of 1921. This building of solid masonry construction costing $200,000 had new facilities and a capacity of 75 beds. It was formally opened Oct. 22, 1922.

Updating the facility in 1961 at the cost of $2.1 million brought many new technologies to the area. These services had been available only to those who lived in or traveled to large metropolitan areas. The original 1902 hospital building was demolished in April 1962. In 1982, another update to the hospital added more services and easier access to emergency medical care.

The hospital celebrated its 100th birthday in 2002, and a $17 million renovation began. All outpatient, imaging and surgery services were updated with remodeled facilities and new state-of-the-art equipment.

In May of 2012, St. Anthony Hospital celebrated a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a new, modern replacement hospital on 93 acres of land owned by the hospital in Pendleton's Southgate. The former hospital complex served Pendleton and surrounding communities well since its original structure was built in 1902. It became clear that continued renovation of these old buildings was neither financially prudent nor operationally and technologically feasible.

On December 20, 2013, the new CHI St. Anthony Hospital accepted its first patients. The new hospital was designed specifically to ensure that our physicians, nurses and healthcare professionals can continue to provide extraordinary care for our patients. The new 103,000-square-foot hospital features 4 operating rooms, 11 emergency rooms, 30 private patient rooms and the latest medical equipment. In our new location, St. Anthony Hospital has plenty of room to grow as needed by the community and will continue to provide the safest quality of care possible.