[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 24]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 32644]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             ST. MARY'S GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL CENTENNIAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 16, 2009

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a century of 
service from an institution of healing in Centralia, Illinois.
  St. Mary's Hospital opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1909 and has been 
serving the Centralia area since. As the city grew, the Poor Handmaids 
of Jesus Christ and the Felician Sisters worked to meet the medical 
needs of the growing population. In 1958, the hospital moved to a new 
117-bed facility on Pleasant Avenue, where it went through 3 expansions 
1969 to 1981.
  In 1996, St. Mary's Hospital merged with Good Samaritan Regional 
Health Center in nearby Mt. Vernon. With the merger, they entered the 
21st Century at the forefront of medical care. Over the last 100 years, 
the people at St. Mary's have not forgotten their core mission and have 
served our community with a level of devotion that is second to none.
  I want to join with the members of this House and the residents of 
South Central Illinois in congratulating St. Mary's Good Samaritan 
Hospital on celebrating its centennial. I want to thank them for their 
healing ministry and to wish them continued success for the next 
hundred years.

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