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Medical Institutions

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Also Known As St. Jude

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St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, founded by entertainer Danny Thomas and opened on February 4, 1962 before a crowd of about 9,000 people. Thomas had vowed, early in a struggling career, to build a shrine to St. Jude Thaddeus, patron saint of hopeless causes, if his fortunes turned; he fulfilled the vow by building a hospital that treats childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases and, uniquely, never bills a family for treatment, travel, housing or food. It was the first fully integrated children's hospital in the American South. This atlas records what the historical record supports and is not medical advice.

Facts
Founding Year
1962 1
Opened February 4, 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee; childhood cancer survival rates under the hospital's research program have risen from about 20 percent in 1962 to over 80 percent today, per the hospital's own account.
Cross-Tradition Connections

Specialist In

St. Jude was founded specifically for pediatric cancer research and treatment and remains one of the leading childhood cancer research centers in the world.

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