[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MERCY HEALTHCARE CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF SERVICE

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                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 11, 1996

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize one of northern 
California's greatest medical resources, Mercy Healthcare, on the 
occasion of its 100th year of hospital service to this area.
  The Sisters of Mercy began making their mark on this area some 140 
years ago when they traveled from San Francisco to Sacramento, then an 
emerging Gold Rush town. Once here, they compassionately administered 
to the poor and the orphaned, offering basic necessities such as food, 
clothing and shelter.
  Recognizing a greater need for health care, the Sisters quickly 
embarked on an endeavor to build an institution which would care for 
the medical needs of the people of Sacramento. Their dream was realized 
in 1896, when they opened the city's first private hospital.
  In 1897, shortly after they opened Mater Misericordiae Hospital, the 
Sisters started a training school for nurses. Over the next half 
century, the Mercy College of Nursing would train more than 600 nurses, 
including many young women who traveled overseas to care for the 
injured and dying victims of both World Wars.
  Less than 30 years after it opened, the hospital was closed and a 
new, more modern one took its place. The new hospital opened to the 
public on February 11, 1925. For the next 42 years, it would serve as 
the Sisters' only Sacramento area hospital, and the focal point for 
their evolving healthcare ministry.
  Throughout this period, Mercy General would provide many firsts in 
the local medical community. In 1953, the hospital campus celebrated 
the opening of Sacramento Valley's first hospital dedicated solely to 
the care of children, the 40-bed Mercy Children's Hospital. A year 
later, the hospital dedicated the J.L.R. Marsh Memorial Wing to care 
for children crippled during the polio epidemic, as well as adults 
injured in industrial accidents. In 1959, the hospital opened 
Sacramento's first intensive care unit; in 1964, Mercy installed one of 
the west coast's first electronic data processing systems for 
accounting; and in 1968, they dedicated a special unit to provide care 
for heart patients. Today, Mercy General's tradition of quality 
continues, hosting one of the Nation's best cardiac surgery programs 
and a renowned stroke program.
  As the region's healthcare needs changed and grew over the years, the 
Sisters were always poised to respond. Since the opening of their first 
hospital, Mercy has expanded its service to a number of communities in 
northern California. In addition to Mercy Healthcare Sacramento, there 
are now hospitals in Redding, Folsom, and Carmichael. In addition, the 
Sisters spread their health ministry south in 1993 with an affiliation 
between Methodist Hospital and Mercy Healthcare Sacramento, the 
organization that today carries out the Sisters' health ministry. 
Another affiliation between Mercy and Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital 
in Grass Valley was completed in 1995.
  Guided by the Sisters' values and compassion for serving those in 
need, Mercy Healthcare Sacramento is preparing to enter its second 
century of health ministry to the people of northern California. Mr. 
Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting the tremendous 
service the Sisters of Mercy have provided this region during the past 
century, and in wishing them many years of continued growth and 
success.

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