Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
MERCY MEDICAL CENTER
MERCY MEDICAL CENTER. In 1879, at the request of Bishop John HENNESSY, Mother Mary baptist martin, Sister Mary Agatha Murphy and Sister Mary Euphrasia come to Dubuque to establish a hospital. (1) In 1880 they opened St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital in a house at the corner of Third Street and Bluff. (2) The facility was the second hospital established in the State of Iowa by the SISTERS OF MERCY and quickly became the largest hospital within Dubuque and Jackson counties in Iowa; Jo Daviess County, Illinois; and Grant County, Wisconsin. Within one year the hospital had outgrown its home and moved to larger quarters on the KELLY'S BLUFF where Mercy Medical Center stands today. (3) The medical staff in the early days of the hospital included ten physicians and the sisters who, in addition to their attention to spiritual needs of the patients, cooked, washed, ironed, and cleaned. In 1885 the Sisters of Mercy opened SAINT JOSEPH'S SANITARIUM, the first mental health provider in the area. (4) A $25,000 surgical annex was opened in 1892 along with ST. ANTHONY'S HOME FOR THE AGED near the hospital. (5) In the fall of 1900 Mercy opened its NURSING EDUCATION program with instruction including the proper methods of bed making, dusting, dressing wounds, and the application of leeches. The school was accredited by the State Board of Nurses Examiners in July of the same year. (6) Graduating its first class in 1902, the school remained open until 1974. (7)
Continued expansion included the construction of a $200,000 addition in 1905 that nearly doubled the hospital's size. (8) This addition also housed the area's first permanent operating room and boasted an X-ray machine. This addition was thought to make Mercy the largest hospital in Iowa.
In 1922 one of the largest x-ray machines in the world for the treatment of cancer was installed in St. Joseph's at a cost of $10,000. This made Dubuque the second city in Iowa (behind Davenport) to have such a machine. (9)
In 1947 the $2,500,000 expansion increased Mercy's capacity with two hundred beds. (10) On February 8, 1970, the new medical center was dedicated which combined the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, SAINT ANTHONY'S HOME FOR THE AGED, and SAINT JOSEPH'S SANITARIUM for the mentally ill. (11) The resulting $9,500,000 facility received funds from the Hill-Burton Act for hospital construction, mental health monies, and a $1,100,000 community fund drive headed by Postmaster Charles J. MURPHY who coined the phrase,"The Umbrella of Mercy." This was the largest community fund drive of Dubuque's history to that time.
In March 1970, Mercy began the first INHALATION THERAPY TECHNICIANS SCHOOL in Iowa. At the time Mercy employed three of the estimated ten inhalation therapists in the state.
In a 1971 study, Hamilton and Associates recommended locating doctors' offices near the hospital. This was followed in 1975 by the move of the MEDICAL ASSOCIATES office building to its present location. On July 1, 1976, Mercy Health Center became a division of the Sisters of Mercy Health Corporation, the nation's largest Catholic health system. (12) Mercy Health Center merged with the Dyersville Community Hospital on January 1, 1978, leading to the creation of Mercy Health Center, St. Mary's Unit, Dyersville and St. Joseph's Unit, Dubuque. (13)
In 1981 Mercy merged with the Franciscan-operated XAVIER HOSPITAL. (14) Today designated a regional health center, Mercy is home of the Northeast Iowa Regional Perinatal Unit, Substance Abuse Treatment Center, and the Eastern Iowa comprehensive mental health center in addition to being the Trauma Center for Northwestern Illinois and the Iowa-designated Poison Information Center.
Mercy Health Center, along with other Mercy Health Services hospitals in Clinton, Mason City and Sioux City, Iowa and Mercy Hospital Medical Center in Des Moines, joined together in 1998 to form Mercy Health Network. (15) In 1999 Mercy Health Center became known Mercy Medical Center - Dubuque and Mercy Medical Center - Dyersville. (16) In 2000 Mercy Health Services of Farmington Hills, Michigan, consolidated with Holy Cross Health System of South Bend, Indiana, to form Trinity Health, headquartered in Novi, Michigan. (17)
Regular announcements of progress in medical care continued to be the norm. In 1999 Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque officials announced that the hospital was able to transmit ultrasound images of children's hearts. The technology allowed the transmission of pediatric echocardiograms - ultrasound images of children's hearts -from Mercy to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where the "echoes" were interpreted. (18) Mercy - Dubuque opened the Medical Associates Community Cardiology Center on its campus in 2005. In November 2009 Mercy hosted an open house at its new inpatient psychiatric unit. (19)
In 2007 Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque was one of 277 American hospitals recognized in a three-page advertisement in the July 23 issue of US News & World Report by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's "Get With the Guidelines (GWTG)" program. The program recognized performance achievement in cardiac patient care, helping hospitals ensure that patients consistently receive cardiac and stroke care according to the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. (20)
In March 2012, Mercy Medical Center announced that the construction of new intensive-care and cardiovascular units had a target completion date of August. The project included 22,000 square feet of renovated space and about 8,000 square feet of new construction. Features included small areas for nurses outside the patients' intensive-care rooms and larger rooms to facilitate equipment for tests. Instead of taking patients out of their rooms, testing equipment would be brought to the patient.
One of the most meaningful benchmarks for hospitals has become the Magnet designation. In 1981, during a serious shortage of nurses, the American Academy of Nursing commissioned a study to identify hospitals with the best nursing practices in the country. The term “Magnet” was adopted to describe these select hospitals, because they acted as magnets in attracting and retaining outstanding nurses. Since that time, the American Nurses Credentialing Center has formally recognized only 289 hospitals across the country for meeting the rigorous standards required in achieving this prestigious award.
Mercy Medical Center received Magnet status in November 2004. (21) It became the 134th hospital in the country and the second of only two hospitals in Iowa to receive the designation.
(Photo Courtesy: http://www.dubuquepostcards.com)
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Source:
1. Gallagher, Mary Kevin. Seed/Harvest. Dubuque, Iowa: Archdiocese of Dubuque Press, 1987, p. 40
2. "Mercy Dubuque," Online: http://www.mercydubuque.com/history
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Gallagher, Mary Kevin. p. 57
7. "Mercy Dubuque"
8. Ibid.
9. "St. Joseph's Buys X-ray for Cancer," Telegraph Herald, September 10, 1922, p. 5
10. "Mercy Dubuque"
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Hogstrom, Erik. "Dubuque Sending Echoes," Telegraph Herald, Oct. 18, 1999, p. B10
19. Hogstrom, Erik."Change Coming to Unit at Mercy," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 12, 2009, p. 3
20. "Mercy Recognizes by Heart/Stroke Program," Telegraph Herald, August 29, 2007, p. 3
21. "Mercy Dubuque"