Finley Hospital

UnityPoint Health Finley Hospital is a medical facility operating in Dubuque, Iowa. The hospital is part of UnityPoint Health. It is one of two hospitals operating in the city of Dubuque. Finley is a 126 bed, non-profit hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and has been licensed by the state of Iowa.In 2016, Finley Hospital welcomed patients to a multi-phase project that provides a 70,000 square foot, 3-story addition located on the Grandview Avenue side of the current Finley Hospital building. The building houses the Emergency Department, surgical suites and Heart and Vascular Center, improving health care delivery for the community.HistoryThe hospital was founded in 1890 when Mrs. Helen Finley bequeathed her estate towards the founding of a hospital in memory of her husband Dr. John Finley. Dr. Finley was Dubuque's first general physician and the second permanent physician of both the county of Dubuque and the state of Iowa. He had the reputation for being a kind man with a deep, invested interest in his patients. This was a well-earned reputation, for Dr. Finley would travel many miles by horseback to attend to patients in surrounding areas and would even help with household chores before getting back on the saddle and traveling to another patient in need. He and his wife were very active within the Dubuque community, belonging to the early settlers group, helping to organize the Presbyterian Church, and forming the Northwest Medical Society (currently known as the Dubuque County Medical Society.)Dr. Finley always wanted to establish a medical school and a hospital. Unfortunately, his efforts to do so were unsuccessful and he eventually died before he could see his dreams come to fruition. Helen helped to honor one of her deceased husband's two wishes. In her will and testament, she specified that her estate should be used to found a hospital in Dubuque named after her husband. The articles of incorporation for The Finley Hospital Company were adopted February 21, 1890, and the Finley residence transformed into a twenty-seven room hospital with only 40 beds.