Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital opened in 1950 at the height of the polio epidemic as a 50-bed, convalescent home for children with polio and other orthopedic diagnoses. As the polio epidemic declined, the emphasis changed to include treatment of spinal cord injured children and young adults.

With census increasing it became apparent to the Kentucky Easter Seal Society, the Board of Trustees, and the Kentucky Bureau of Rehabilitation that there was a great need for a rehabilitation program for patients with spinal cord injury.

These three groups joined together to plan an expanded program of 50 additional rehabilitation beds. In 1974, the South wing was opened with 50-bed capacity, plus education and training areas.

At this time, the hospital began to treat adults as well as children and began to receive many referrals for patients with diagnoses of stroke and head injury. So in 1978 a new wing was added to house 70 patients; and all patients were moved into that wing.

Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital now serves five major inpatient units including spinal cord injury, general rehab, stroke, brain injury and pulmonary.