Sweet Gesture Gives Rise to New Hospital

Flour, raisins, milk, cinnamon, sugar and a few eggs. That’s all it took to close a deal on 20 acres of land for a new Sacred Heart Hospital in 1959.

That year, Sacred Heart’s Daughters of Charity were in the market for a new location for their hospital. The community was growing rapidly, the original structure housing 135 beds on 12th Avenue had become obsolete after 44 years of service, and a much larger facility was needed.

During a visit to the Baars family, the Sisters presented Mrs. Theo Baars with a loaf of homemade raisin bread fresh from the oven. The gesture was too sweet to resist. The Daughters secured the 20 acres at Sacred Heart’s current Ninth Avenue location.

At the time, the land was just scrub land but these visionary Sisters saw potential in the area. Neighbors included the airport and Pensacola Junior College at that time. Today, Sacred Heart serves growing families in nearby neighborhoods and reaches out beyond our Ninth Avenue campus and across the Northwest Florida/South Alabama region to make health care more accessible to the families of our area.