The hospital was founded in 1907 as the Italian Surgical Hospital, the name reflecting its main activity. It was the only medical center in northern Palestine and employed Italian, Jewish and Arab surgeons. The staff moved into the current building in 1932 or 1933. From the beginning, the hospital was administered by the
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Egypt, as they were called at the time. The Italian Hospital ceased to function as such during the
First and
Second World Wars, as Italy was an enemy of the empires ruling Palestine during both conflicts, and again after the State of Israel was established in 1948, when the
Israeli Army (IDF) used it as a military hospital. In 1951 Israel returned it to Italian hands. The oncology department was founded in 1950 and its cobalt therapy device was the first in northern Israel. Ten years later, for professional reasons, the department subordinated its activity to Haifa's main
teaching hospital,
Rambam. ==References==