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Riley Children's Health

History of Riley Children's Health

A Legacy of Compassion and Care

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It started with a vision—a vision to remember a beloved Indiana icon with a lasting legacy in his name.

In 1917, an Indianapolis doctor suggested a children’s hospital be built as a memorial for Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley. The idea caught on: a hospital with national recognition would serve the children of Indiana and be a permanent celebration of Riley.

Since its opening in 1924, Riley Children's Health has carried on that vision by offering world-class healthcare to children throughout Indiana. The state’s first and only comprehensive pediatric system gives children access to the best and brightest physicians, healthcare providers and researchers.

Here are the milestones that made it all possible.

Riley Century Video Thumbnail

Riley Children’s First Century

In October 2024, Riley Children’s was immensely proud to celebrate an extraordinary milestone – a century of serving our community with unwavering dedication and cutting-edge healthcare. Watch the video to learn more about our first century.

Historical Timeline

Historical Timeline

As we embark on our second century, we reflect on our most momentous points in time. Read the following historical timeline to learn more.

To learn more about our history, read our Retro Riley stories.

  • 1910s
  • 1920s
  • 1950s
  • 1960s
  • 1970s
  • 1980s
  • 1990s
  • 2000s
  • 2010s
1917

Honoring a Hoosier poet

James Whitcomb Riley

The Riley Memorial Committee announces plans to build James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, a living memorial for the famed Hoosier poet.

1922

Construction begins

A cabbage patch and corn field is shown in the early stages of construction. Photo credit: IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives

Civic leaders and public officials gather for a groundbreaking ceremony on the hospital on July 11. At an Oct. 7 cornerstone laying ceremony, former U.S. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall gave the principal address. President and Mrs. Warren G. Harding donated a bronze trowel for the actual laying of the cornerstone.

1924

Hospital dedicated

Mark Noble, the first patient at Riley, is admitted to the hospital. Credit: IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives
An exterior view of the eastside of Riley Hospital is shown around 1925. Credit: IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives

James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Hospital for Children is dedicated on Oct. 7–Mr. Riley’s birthday. On Nov. 19, 11-year-old Mark Noble of Decatur, Indiana, who had polio, is the first patient admitted to the hospital.

1950

Steps to research

The cornerstone of the research wing is dedicated during a ceremony on Oct. 7, 1949. Credit: IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives

The Riley Research Building opens. The building, with its laboratories and equipment capabilities, sets the groundwork for a strong research program.

During this time, the hospital attracts new, highly skilled pediatric specialists and subspecialists, dramatically increasing the number of faculty in the Department of Pediatrics during chairman Dr. Lyman Meiks’ tenure from 1951 to 1966. Watch video to learn more about pediatric research at Riley:

1951

Indiana’s first pediatric cardiac catheterization laboratory opens at Riley.

1956

Indiana's first pediatric open-heart procedure is performed by Dr. Harris Schumacker.

Timeline 1956 cv
1961

Neurosurgery begins at the hospital.

A nurse works in the EEG lab at Riley in 1966. Credit: IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives
1962

Innovative procedure

Dr. Paul Raymond Lurie, the first pediatric cardiologist in Indiana and former division chief of cardiology at Riley, is the first in the country to perform percutaneous cardiac catheterization in children.

1966

A heart first

Riley Children’s becomes the first hospital in Indiana, and one of the first in the nation, to utilize echocardiography to diagnose congenital heart defects.

1971

Providing a national model

A family stays in the Parent Care Unit in 1980. Credit: IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives
Timeline 1980s family centered care

The Baxter Parent Care Pavilion opens, providing visitation and in-room sleeping accommodations for parents, thus creating a national model for family-centered care.

As pioneered by Dr. Morris Green, the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics from 1967 to 1987, this novel concept allowed families to reside full time at the bedside with their child, whereas previously parents were not allowed to be actively involved in their child’s healthcare.

Today, the concept has expanded to develop the Ronald McDonald House, a facility that allows families to stay within or near the hospital, offering overnight rooms and essential amenities. As the Ronald McDonald House stands as the largest of its kind in the nation, families can fully take part in their child’s medical journey. Watch the video to learn more about how Riley is a leading pioneer for family centered care:

1980

Indiana’s first

Drbrownwebmain

Dr. John Brown performs the first staged Fontan procedure in Indiana. The surgery keeps oxygenated and deoxygenated blood from mixing in the heart.

1983

Cochlear Implant

Timeline 1983 cochlear

Led by Dr. Richard Miyamoto, physicians at Riley perform Indiana’s first pediatric cochlear implant procedure to correct deafness.

1989

Another cardiac milestone

Indiana’s first infant and newborn heart transplants are performed by Dr. John Brown and Dr. Mark Turrentine.

1990

The Ryan White legacy

Ryan White School

Ryan White, an Indiana teenager and Riley patient, dies of HIV/AIDS in April 1990. Treated by infectious disease specialist at Riley, Dr. Martin Kleiman, Ryan's legacy spurs movement for many. Activists push for improved medications of HIV/AIDS, researchers aim to learn more and physicians begin implementing better treatments for their patients.

This significant time changes the public conception of HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases as a whole. Watch the video below to learn how Riley has been leading in breakthroughs in infectious disease:

1991

Research Center opens

Riley Research Center. Credit: IUPUI University Library Special Collections and Archives
1993

Trauma designation

Riley Hospital for Children earns a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center verification from the American College of Surgeons, making it one of a select number of children’s hospitals in the nation to earn the designation.

1994

Cancer center opens

Indiana’s first and only pediatric cancer center, including the state’s only stem cell transplant unit, opens at Riley. There, Indiana’s first pediatric cord blood transplant is performed.

1997

Name change

James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children joins Indiana University Hospital and Methodist Hospital to form Clarian Health Partners, and now is referred to as Riley Hospital for Children.

2002

Renowned heart center

Indiana’s only dedicated unit for children with heart defects, the Riley Heart Center, opens, providing more convenient and accessible heart care for pediatric patients.

2002

Cancer research

Riley Hospital for Children is one of just 19 hospitals in the country selected to perform Phase I pediatric cancer research protocol. In Phase I studies, drugs are tested to evaluate the dosages of the treatment, and how often the treatment can be administered.

2003

Revolutionary procedures

Berlinheart

Dr. Mark Turrentine leads the way for Riley Children’s to be the first physician in the state and the second in the nation to receive special government permission to use and implant the Berlin Heart, a ventricular assist device to treat complex cardiac problems. After the successful procedure, the Berlin Heart eventually gains FDA approval in 2011.

In the same year, Drs. John Brown and Mark Turrentine are known as the first in Indiana to perform a pulmonary autograft mitral valve replacement, a revolutionary procedure to replace the mitral valve. Watch the video below to learn more about the Berlin Heart procedure at Riley:

2005

Building expansion

Riley Timeline 2005 Simon Family Tower
Riley Timeline 2005 North3

Riley Children’s announces plans for a $500 million expansion to make the hospital one of the largest children's hospitals in the nation. Construction on the 10-story, 675,000-sqaure foot Simon Family Tower begins in the summer of 2006. The first phase opens in 2011, and the building is completed in 2013.

In the same year, Riley Children’s at IU Health North in Carmel opens, offering expanded pediatric care to families on the north side of Indianapolis.

2011

Highly ranked

Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health is ranked in 10 out of 10 specialties by U.S. News & World Report. Since then, Riley Children’s has consistently ranked as the only nationally ranked children's hospital in Indiana.

2016

Statewide system

Riley Children’s Health, Indiana’s only full service statewide pediatric health system, is formally announced. An extension of Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Riley Children’s Health offers complete, comprehensive pediatric care ranging from routine primary care checkups to the most complex acute care needs from highly skilled pediatric specialists.

2021

Maternity Tower opens

Timeline 2021 maternity tower

The Riley Maternity Tower opens in 2021, providing support and amenities to mothers and their newborns. In the state-of-the-art facility, patients have access to a full space of birthing options, with expert care that is available 24/7.

Riley Children's Health Indiana University School of Medicine
Designated as Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Ranked in 10 Specialties in 2023-24

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Indiana University Health
Find adult services at iuhealth.org

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Designated as Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Ranked in 10 Specialties in 2023-24

©2025 Riley Hospital for Children at
Indiana University Health
Find adult services at iuhealth.org


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