Ways to Give

Spirit of giving led to creation of Erlanger

It was the generosity of a French nobleman in 1889 that led to the creation of Chattanooga’s leading healthcare provider. Dismayed by a lack of local medical care, the Baron d’Erlanger – who had vast railroad holdings in this region - donated $5000 to build a hospital in Chattanooga. In today’s dollars, his contribution would be the equivalent of more than $4 million.

Appreciative city leaders named the new facility for its benefactor’s wife, Baroness Marguerite Mathilde Slidell d’Erlanger. The cornerstone for the Baroness Erlanger hospital was laid in 1891 and eight years later, began serving the community with 72 beds, a dozen private rooms, surgical facilities, and a delivery room.

Since opening its doors in 1899, this spirit of giving has remained an integral part of Erlanger’s growth and progress. In the 1930’s, for example, members of the Erlanger Auxiliary worked in a sewing room hemming sheets, making surgery caps, dressings, bandages, and surgery masks – even baby diapers. In 1934, its first year of existence, Erlanger’s Auxiliary raised $525. Later, the auxiliary purchased an iron lung for the hospital and even contributed funding for Erlanger’s first air conditioning system. Over the 70-plus years it has been in existence, the auxiliary has contributed millions of dollars to Erlanger, and through special services like the campus gift shop, to the Baroness Foundation, Erlanger’s major fund-raising arm.