The town of Colorado Springs, Colorado, played an important role in the history of tuberculosis in the era before antituberculosis drugs and vaccines. Tuberculosis management before this era was difficult and often of limited effect. In the 19th century, a movement for tuberculosis treatment in hospital-like facilities called sanatoriums became prominent, especially in Europe and North America. Thus people sought tuberculosis treatment in Colorado Springs because of its dry climate and fresh mountain air. Some people stayed in boarding houses, while others sought the hospital-like facilities of sanatoriums.[a] In the 1880s and 1890s, it is estimated that one-third of the people living in Colorado Springs had tuberculosis. The number of sanatoriums and hospitals increased into the twentieth century. During World War II, medicines were developed that successfully treated tuberculosis and by the late 1940s specialized tuberculosis treatment facilities were no longer needed.
Several of the facilities evolved into hospitals or medical facilities: Glockner Tuberculosis Sanatorium evolved into Penrose Hospital. Beth-El Hospital, with the National Deaconess Sanitarium, evolved into Memorial Hospital. St. Francis Hospital was a hospital that had a sanatorium in its three building complex. Union Printers Home and the Modern Woodmen Tuberculosis Sanatorium, now Mount Saint Francis, are going concerns with skilled nursing care. Today, however, the structure's usages are different. Miramont Castle, which was the site of the Montcalm Sanitarium, is now a museum. National Methodist Sanatorium evolved into a building for the Ent Air Force Base and its site is now part of the United States Olympic Training Center.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).