Riverside Sanitarium and Hospital
A historic Seventh-day Adventist medical institution in Nashville that provided healthcare and professional opportunities for African Americans during the era of racial segregation.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Riverside Sanitarium and Hospital was a Seventh-day Adventist medical institution founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1901. Established originally as the Nashville Colored Sanitarium, it was created to extend Adventist medical missionary work to African Americans who faced restricted access to hospitals and unequal treatment within the American healthcare system. The institution began in a small group of treatment rooms on North Cherry Street and later developed into one of Nashville’s most important Black medical facilities. The sanitarium’s early work combined conventional clinical care with therapies associated with the Adventist health tradition, including hydrotherapy. Lottie C. Isbell, a graduate of the American Medical Missionary College in Battle Creek, Michigan, was its first physician and an early figure in the institution’s medical work. The facility encountered skepticism and financial difficulties during its formative years, and an attempted relocation to the Hillcrest area on White Creeks Pike did not attract enough patients to succeed. Despite these setbacks, the institution remained part of the broader Adventist effort to create healthcare access for African Americans. A major transformation began in the 1920s. Through the financial and organizational support of Adventist missionary and philanthropist Nellie H. Druillard, Riverside was developed into a full hospital. By 1927 it occupied a 50-bed brick building, providing a more substantial clinical setting for Nashville’s Black population. In 1935, a major property donation associated with Druillard helped secure the institution’s position as an Adventist facility and supported the expansion of modern medical services. Riverside became especially significant because it offered employment, training, and clinical leadership opportunities to Black physicians and nurses at a time when segregation limited their access to many mainstream hospitals. Its staff and professional network extended beyond Nashville, attracting medical personnel and patients from other parts of the United States. Physicians associated with the institution included T. R. M. Howard, Carl Ashley Dent, and Dorothy Lavinia Brown. Brown, who became chief of surgery, was recognized as the first African-American woman surgeon in the American South and later entered Tennessee politics. Dent served as medical director from 1940 and played an important role in the hospital’s physical and professional development. The hospital expanded substantially after the Second World War. A new 85-bed building was dedicated in September 1948 at a ceremony attended by approximately 1,500 people, including senior Seventh-day Adventist leaders. In 1963, Riverside added the Pagoda of Medicine, a distinctive modern medical building designed by Leon Q. Jackson. The structure became closely associated with Nashville’s African American medical history. By 1976, the institution had developed into a three-story, 290-bed hospital. Riverside’s work continued during a period when the desegregation of American healthcare was changing the competitive and institutional environment. Rising financial pressure and broader changes in hospital administration and healthcare delivery weakened the facility. The Adventist Health System ultimately closed Riverside Hospital in 1983. Although it no longer operates as a hospital, its historical importance remains tied to the expansion of medical access, the advancement of Black healthcare professionals, and the struggle for racial equity in Nashville healthcare. A historical marker unveiled in 2018 recognized the institution’s contribution, while the Pagoda of Medicine and the Riverside Historical Society continue to serve as reminders of its legacy.
History
Riverside Sanitarium and Hospital began in Nashville in 1901 as the Nashville Colored Sanitarium, an initiative of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Its purpose was to provide healthcare for African Americans who had few reliable options in a segregated medical system and to support Adventist medical missionary work. The first facility consisted of several small treatment rooms on North Cherry Street. Lottie C. Isbell, trained at the American Medical Missionary College in Battle Creek, served as its first physician. Early treatment included hydrotherapy and other health practices associated with the Adventist tradition. The institution struggled during its initial years. Local skepticism and limited finances affected its ability to expand, and a later attempt to move to the Hillcrest area on White Creeks Pike failed to generate sufficient patronage. The sanitarium nevertheless remained part of the Adventist movement’s effort to establish separate medical facilities for Black communities. A decisive period of development came in the 1920s. Nellie H. Druillard, an Adventist missionary and philanthropist, helped secure the resources required to convert the small sanitarium into a larger hospital. By 1927, Riverside had a 50-bed brick building. In 1935, a substantial property donation associated with Druillard, valued in contemporary accounts at $300,000, helped establish the hospital’s Adventist status and strengthened its financial and physical foundation. Riverside’s importance extended beyond patient care: because racial discrimination restricted access to many hospitals, it became a place where Black physicians and nurses could work, develop their practices, and serve patients from Nashville and elsewhere. T. R. M. Howard served as medical director in 1937 before later becoming chief surgeon of Taborian Hospital in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Carl Ashley Dent became Riverside’s medical director in 1940 and helped guide the hospital’s growth. Dent was also involved in commissioning the Pagoda of Medicine, a modern building designed by Leon Q. Jackson and completed in 1963. Dorothy Lavinia Brown served as chief of surgery and became one of the most prominent physicians associated with Riverside. Her career represented the institution’s role in opening professional opportunities for African American women in medicine. Riverside’s postwar expansion was marked by the dedication of an 85-bed hospital building on September 5, 1948. The ceremony drew roughly 1,500 attendees and included leading Seventh-day Adventist figures such as J. L. McElhany, G. E. Peters, and N. C. Wilson. During the 1960s, Elder Charles E. Dudley, president of the South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists from 1962, advocated for the hospital and its continued role in the community. Further development followed in the 1970s, and by 1976 Riverside had become a 290-bed, three-story hospital. The hospital’s later years were shaped by financial strain and changes in American healthcare. Desegregation altered the institutional landscape, while operating pressures made it increasingly difficult for Riverside to remain viable. The Adventist Health System closed the hospital in 1983. The end of operations did not erase its historical influence. Riverside is remembered as a center of Black medical excellence and as an institution that helped expand healthcare access in Nashville. The Pagoda of Medicine remains an important symbol, and preservation efforts by the Riverside Historical Society have helped maintain the site’s connection to African American medical history. In 2018, the Metropolitan Historical Commission of Nashville and Davidson County, working with the Riverside Historical Society, unveiled a historical marker commemorating the hospital.
- 2018
Historical marker is unveiled
[1]Nashville preservation authorities and the Riverside Historical Society commemorate the institution’s contribution to African American healthcare.
- 1983
Hospital closes
[1]The Adventist Health System ends Riverside Hospital’s operations.
- 1976
Hospital reaches 290 beds
[1]The institution is described as a three-story hospital with 290 beds.
- 1963
Pagoda of Medicine is constructed
[1]Riverside adds a modern medical building designed by Leon Q. Jackson.
- 1948
New 85-bed building is dedicated
[1]A new hospital building is dedicated on September 5, marking a major postwar expansion.
- 1940
Carl Ashley Dent becomes medical director
[1]Dent assumes medical leadership and contributes to Riverside’s subsequent expansion and professional development.
- 1935
Major property support strengthens the institution
[1]A substantial property donation associated with Nellie H. Druillard supports Riverside’s recognition and development as an Adventist facility.
- 1927
Hospital expansion completed
[1]Riverside develops from a small sanitarium into a hospital operating in a 50-bed brick building.
- 1901
Nashville Colored Sanitarium is founded
[1]The Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists establishes the institution in Nashville to serve African American patients and advance medical missionary work.
Products and positioning
A faith-based, community-serving hospital that combined Adventist medical principles with modern healthcare and provided an important clinical base for African American patients and medical professionals in segregated Nashville.
Hospital services · 1927
Inpatient hospital care
Riverside provided hospital-based medical care to Nashville’s African American community, eventually operating facilities with 50, 85, and later 290 beds. Its inpatient role was particularly important during segregation, when Black patients often encountered exclusion or inferior treatment at mainstream hospitals.
Hospital services
Surgical services
Surgery was a prominent part of Riverside’s medical identity. Dorothy Lavinia Brown served as chief of surgery, helping establish the hospital as a setting in which African American surgeons could practice and lead clinical departments.
Health and wellness services · 1901
Adventist preventive and alternative therapies
The original sanitarium offered therapies such as hydrotherapy alongside medical care. These services reflected the Seventh-day Adventist emphasis on health education, prevention, and integrated approaches to wellbeing.
Brand decisions
1983
Closure of Riverside HospitalStrategyBackground
Financial difficulties and changes in the healthcare environment weakened the institution after decades of expansion and community service.
Action taken
The Adventist Health System closed the hospital and ended its medical operations.
Aftermath
Riverside became a historical legacy rather than an operating healthcare provider. Its former role is commemorated through the Pagoda of Medicine, preservation work, and a 2018 historical marker.
Sources1 sources
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