Established in 1935 by the Pallottine Missionary Sisters, St Joseph's represents a unique public private model which provides the bridge between the acute hospital, the home and the community as a whole. Children with ages ranging from birth to 17 are referred to St Joseph's from hospitals such as the Red Cross Children's Hospital, Tygerberg, Groote Schuur and local Community Health Centres. The children who are refered to St Joseph's come from under-resourced homes and communities and suffer from ;life-limiting and life threatening illnesses such as infectious diseases, cerebral palsy, malnutrition, diabetes, respiratory, heart-lung-kidney failures and congenital abnormalities. The 175-bed intermediate facility serves the needs of up to 500 medically fragile children a year who require ongoing post-cute nursing and rehabilitative care. St Joseph's provides a holistic healing approach to minimise the likelihood of re-admission to acute hospitals.