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Mercy Hospital was hailed  as ‘a glorious beacon of light’

The facility opened in 1950 as ‘hospital situation in Clark County’ approached ‘a crisis.’

Mercy founder supported civic causes of all kinds

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By Tom Stafford, Staff Writer Updated 8:48 AM Monday, March 22, 2010

“Springfield’s new Mercy Hospital, now in full operation, is a stately, monumental expression of the dedication of the Sisters of Mercy and the medical profession to the cause of alleviating human illness and suffering.”

— Special newspaper section of May 28, 1950

SPRINGFIELD — The opening of the new Mercy Hospital on Fountain Boulevard in the city’s Ridgewood area coincided with the opening of the second half of the 20th century.

And in a special newspaper section on May 28, 1950, Sister Mary Cecilia Barnett, the supervisor of the new facility, touched on the facility’s location, both in place and time.

“During the 50 years that have just passed into eternity,” she wrote, “the Knights of Pythias Orphanage stood as a symbol of security and hope to many parents. Those buildings, which manifest the love and foresight which provided their beautiful surroundings and spacious construction, still afford a haven of rest for aging persons and others in need of a home.

“With the dawn of this coming half century on this hallowed spot,” she continued, “Mercy Hospital appears as a glorious beacon of light to the citizens of Springfield and Clark County” — a place she said would be dedicated to “excellent service for the love of God and mankind.”

For decades known as Mercy Medical Center and more recently as Springfield Regional Medical Center Fountain Boulevard Campus, the 60-year history of the building as a hospital will end March 29 when emergency room services are consolidated at the medical center’s High Street Campus.

The former Community Hospital will operate until the Regional Medical Center opens in 2012.

The baby boom

A brief history of Mercy assembled at its golden anniversary in 2000 said its construction “culminated several years of work, interrupted by World War II, to meet the growing Springfield and Clark County population’s need for additional hospital services.

“Multiple factors contributed to the need for a new hospital: a quickly growing area population that topped 135,000, heightened public awareness of the value of hospital care in treating illness and injury, and scientific advances that made a wider range of medical care possible,” the history said.

The tone of the campaign material has a more urgent tone.

Under the subheading “facts we must face — now,” a brochure said: “Today, the hospital facilities of Clark County are 40 percent below the recognized national standard. This situation endangers the lives of our citizens.

“Mercy Hospital,” it concluded, “is projected as a vital, urgent necessity to augment present inadequate hospital service.”

Noting that Clark County’s ratio of beds per thousand population stood at 2.8, well below the national standard of 4.5, the booklet said the hospital was to be built on “the spacious, quiet and inspiring site of the former Knights of Pythias Orphanage.

“In this first post-war countywide building effort, we must all unite,” it added, “for all thinking citizens agree that the hospital situation in Clark County now approaches a crisis.”

The campaign slogan was: Mercy Hospital — Vital and urgent, let’s give enough to build it right.

The campaign brochure carried a letter of endorsement from two key figures: the president of the board and executive director of what was then called Springfield City Hospital.

Sister acts

The Sisters of Mercy had had a presence in Springfield since 1923, when they came to serve St. Mary’s Parish and school on the city’s west side.

In 1944, they bought the ornate buildings of the former Knights of Pythias home and in 1945 reopened some of the facilities as Mercycrest, a home for the elderly.

The hospital fundraising campaign headed by prominent Springfield Catholic Joseph C. Shouvlin set a minimum goal of $1 million, for which the Sisters of Mercy, who operated 92 hospitals and sanitariums, estimated the community could build a 200-bed general hospital.

Those interested in making memorial donations could have their names or the names of loved ones attached to the maternity floor for a donation of $200,000; to the surgical department for a donation of $100,000; to an elevator of the snack shop and lounge for $20,000; or to the children’s formula room for $10,000.

The campaign was going when ground was broken in April 1947 and generated $1.7 million, including 700 pennies from children who raised their money during a neighborhood festival.

The cornerstone was laid on June 6, 1948 — four years to the day after the Allied forces had landed on the beaches of Normandy.

Costing a total of $6 million, the hospital ultimately had 319 beds and 60 bassinets and was visited by 25,000 people during community open houses.

Why the Ys?

A brief piece on the top of the special section of May 28, 1950, said “the simplicity and harmony of its modern architecture aptly represent contemporary progress in medical science.”

In a separate piece in the section, John L. Cashin, public relations director for the hospital, highlighted the more practical aspects of the structure:

• The building is constructed in the shape of a double Y, affording all patients’ rooms an outside exposure.

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