In 1881, some civic-minded Mahoning County citizens believed that Youngstown needed its own hospital due to an increasing amount of industry and industrial accidents. As such, the Youngstown Hospital Association was formed.

Youngstown Hospital (Southside Hospital’s predecessor) admitted its first patient, who arrived by horse and buggy on January 1, 1883. The 20-bed hospital on Court Street, with its four staff members and seven visiting physicians, logged 59 patient admissions during that first year.

The Youngstown Hospital Association opened Northside Medical Center in 1929, setting a benchmark as one of the first multi-unit hospitals in the nation. Tod Babies’ and Children’s Hospital opened in the spring of 1972 by Western Reserve HealthCare (the former Youngstown Hospital Association).

Through the decades, and a host of rapidly changing health care issues, Western Reserve HealthCare grew. The system evolved into Forum Health in 1997 when Northside Medical Center and Tod Children’s Hospital merged with Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

More than 120 years after its founding, Forum Health is still committed to providing the best health care services possible to residents of the Valley.