San Juan de Dios Hospital in Granada: a review from its beginnings

John of God was the epitome of hospitality and beneficent charity at that time. He practiced a humanistic Chistianity consolidated by his acts in hospital care, which he universalized with time. John Ciudad Duarte was the “seed” of what is now the Order of the Brothers Hospitallers, with 1.000 members of the religious order, 30.000 workers and 225 centres around the world. The material and methods which have been used include documents published from 1995 to 2013, thanks to an exhaustive bibliography of electronic resources and books. For this purpose, we have taken into account variable such as its opening, historical, context, the role of Juan Ciudad Duarte and the health system at that time. Among the results, we can mention that in the Hospital of San Juan de Dios, patients were put in a particular hospital according to their disease. Hygiene was of the utmost importance and patients´ urine and excrements were properly disposed of. The way mentally ill people were treated was new. The work was carried out by own bothers of the order.