Kettering Health beginnings stem from the family of Dayton inventor Charles F. Kettering. After his death in 1958, his son and daughter-in-law, Eugene and Virginia, decided to build a hospital as a memorial of his life and work. Impressed by the treatment polio patients received at a hospital operated by Seventh-day Adventists, and believing the Church's philosophy of healing and Christian-based compassion was the perfect foundation for a new community-based hospital, the Ketterings raised $2 million to develop the project. Kettering Memorial Hospital, a 254-bed facility, was officially dedicated in February 1964. Since the Ketterings plan also called for a school, the Adventist Church opened Kettering College of Medical Arts in 1967.
In 1978, Kettering opened Sycamore Hospital to provide medical care in the southwest suburbs. Recognizing the need for care in the southeast region, the organization began construction on what would eventually (1983) become Southview Hospital. In June 1999, the Kettering and Grandview (opened in 1926) hospital systems merged, creating the Kettering Medical Center Network, which operates under the Kettering Adventist HealthCare umbrella.
With five major hospitals, the Network is now the fastest growing healthcare provider in the Dayton area and the third largest employer. A not-for-profit organization, Kettering Adventist HealthCare serves citizens of the greater Dayton area and surrounding communities with 51 facilities, 1,300 physicians, 6,800 employees, and 1,000 volunteers.
