It began on 1st February, 1886, when the "Diakonissenanstalt" (Deaconesses' Institution), founded by pastor Hermann Faulhaber, took up its work in Schwäbisch Hall. The first Mother Superior was Sofie Pfitzmajer. Young women were trained to care for the sick of the municipalities in the Hohenlohe region.

They viewed their diaconal service as a way of answering to the challenge with which human suffering presents any follower of the Gospel.

The nurses found a place of training and a home in the Deaconesses' House of Schwäbisch Hall. The first municipal health care centres were opened in Langenburg, Dörzbach and Schwäbisch Hall. By 1890, every Franconian deanery had a municipal health care centre staffed with nurses from Schwäbisch Hall. Through a contractual agreement with the council offices of the district of Schwäbisch Hall, a hospital became part of the Deaconesses' House, initially with 30 beds. Medical care was put in the hands of doctors Dürr senior and junior. Thanks to the support on part of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the St. John's House for ill children was built in 1890. In 1899, pastor Gottlob Weißer took over from pastor Faulhaber, who was relieved of his duties because of economical difficulties. Pastor Weißer managed to put the 'Diakonissenanstalt' on a solid footing, financially as well as organisationally.

In 1900, work with people with disabilities was taken on as an additional branch of work. The Gottlob-Weißer-Haus was built in 1912 as a "home for the feebleminded" for 500 women and children with disabilities. Between 1900 and 1911, the number of Deaconesses grew from 72 to 213.

From 1906 onwards, women living on their own and in need of care were also taken in at the 'Diakonissenanstalt', which acquired the 'Nikolaihaus' (formerly a town hospital) as a home for the elderly in 1934.

These five areas of work - municipal health care, training in nursing occupations, hospital, help for people with disabilities and help for the elderly - remain to this day. However, they have changed considerably over the course of the 20th century. The network of municipal health care centres has steadily expanded, from 34 such centres in 1899 to 132 today. Nowadays, the nurses work in diaconal welfare centres.

In 1924, a state-approved examination was introduced for those training to be nurses; this date, therefore, is also the hour of birth of the nursing school. In 1948, a school for children's nurses was founded. Up to 1999, about 3000 men and women completed their professional training at those nursing schools

The hospital experienced a quantum leap with the building of the "skyscraper" (1931-38). Today, the diaconal hospital is a house of comprehensive medical care, with 578 beds in 16 specialised sections. Work with the handicapped suffered a painful break when the 'Diakonissenanstalt' was evicted during the Nazi regime. In 1940, 256 residents were brought to Weinsberg, from where they were led into the gas chambers. With those who survived, work went on . When 'Heim Schöneck' (161 places) was founded in 1980, help for people with disabilities once more became a central branch of work.

Care for the elderly expanded as an area of work when the 'Gottlob-Weißer-Haus' was turned into a home for the elderly in 1980. Today, the 'Gottlob-Weißer-Haus' and the 'Nikolaihaus' have a total of 172 places.

It was the deaconesses who built up and shaped the Social Welfare Association. In 1930, 498 active deaconesses were living and working here. In the sixties and seventies, a re-orientation took place within the sisterhood. The " Community of the Nurses of Schwäbisch Hall" was founded to include deaconesses and diaconal sisters as well as brothers - today, it has more than 1000 members. The "Deaconesses' House" grew to become the "Social Welfare Association". With approximately 2360 employees, the Diak is the second biggest employer in the District of Schwäbisch Hall.