Mt. San Rafael Hospital

Mt. San Rafael Hospital is a general hospital in Trinidad, Colorado. Founded in 1889, the hospital is a level IV trauma center.[2] It is notable for being a pioneer in sex-change operations, with the hospital's first of thousands of such surgeries being completed there in 1969.[3]

Mt. San Rafael Hospital
The hospital's main façade.
A map of Colorado with a dot showing the location of Mt. San Rafael Hospital in the city of Trinidad.
A map of Colorado with a dot showing the location of Mt. San Rafael Hospital in the city of Trinidad.
The hospital's location in Colorado.
Geography
LocationTrinidad, Las Animas County, Colorado, United States
Coordinates37°10′23″N 104°29′15″W
Organization
Care systemPrivate
TypeGeneral
Affiliated universityNone
Services
Emergency departmentLevel IV trauma center
Beds25[1]
HelipadYes
History
Opened1889
Links
Websitewww.msrhc.org
ListsHospitals in Colorado

History
Armed strikers in front of the hospital, April 1914.

The hospital was originally established in 1889 by the Sisters of Charity. Renovations and additions were completed in 1906 and 1959. In 1969, the hospital was secularized and bought by the Trinidad Area Health Association, an organization that continues to own and run the facility. A completely new hospital building was constructed and opened in 1972 and continues to serve as Mt. San Rafael's main building today.[4]

In January 1914, the hospital was used by General John Chase of the Colorado National Guard to hold labor activist Mother Jones during the 1913-1914 Colorado Coalfield War.[5] Following the Ludlow Massacre, armed strikers took control of Trinidad and the hospital.

Sex-change operations

The hospital's sex-change surgery service led to Trinidad being named the "sex-change capital of the world." Resident surgeon Dr. Stanley Biber performed the hospital's first sex-change operation in 1969, and thousands of additional sex-change operations were performed there[3] until Biber's successor left following a dispute in 2010.[6][7]

References
  1. "American Hospital Directory". 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-08-28. Total Staffed Beds: 25
  2. "Trauma Facilities". Southern Colorado Regional EMS & Trauma Advisory Council. Retrieved 2018-08-28. Level IV Trauma Center.
  3. Pressley, Sue Anne (1998-05-13). "In the Rockies, a gender crossroads". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  4. "History". Mt. San Rafael Hospital. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  5. Sunseri, Alvin (1972). The Ludlow Massacre: A study in the mis-employment of the National Guard. University of Northern Iowa. OCLC 6654774.
  6. Augé, Karen (2010-12-12). "Well-known Trinidad sex-reassignment doctor leaves". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  7. Verlee, Megan (28 October 2010). "Trinidad Loses 'Sex-Change' Doc". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 16 February 2022.


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