Mercy Regional Medical Center

Description

About Us
Welcome to Mercy Regional Medical Center southwest Colorados largest and most technologically advanced medical facility Continuing the legacy of care that began in 1882 when the Sisters of Mercy opened Durangos first hospital Mercy Regional is a notforprofit full service acute care hospital designated as a Level III trauma center As a notforprofit medical center Mercy is committed to improving the health and wellness of the communities it serves and the individuals who receive care at the hospital The new Mercy Regional Medical Center opened in the Grandview area of Durango in June 2006 It includes stateoftheart medical technology in an environment designed to promote a sense wellness and healing

History

Our History
A Brief History of Mercy Regional Medical Center

The first hospital in the Four Corners region was Mercy Hospital of the San Juans started by the Sisters of Mercy in 1882 Although it had only sixbeds and was attached to a boarding school the small hospital opened to great fanfare on September 1 It was located along the Animas River in what was then an open field north of old downtown Durango

In 1884 a new building often referred to as the quotstone hospitalquot because of its native sandstone construction was finished and the hospitals name was changed to Mercy Hospital Major additions took place in 1892 1931 and 1952 and over the following 50 years the building located at 375 East Park Avenue went through various additions and remodels while older sections of the facility were demolished to make room for the new

By the late 1990s Mercy Medical Center was operating at capacity but unable to expand because downtown Durango had literally grown up around it Plans were drawn for a brand new facility to be built in the newly annexed Grandview area of Durango

In June of 2006 Mercy Regional Medical Center opened The 212000squarefoot facility is stateoftheart with the latest medical technologies an attached 153000squarefoot medical office building ambulatory surgical center and plenty of room to expand in the future

The old Mercy Medical Center building was demolished in 2006 and the land was donated to the city of Durango The new Durango Library now occupies the former hospital site

A Brief History of the Sisters of Mercy

Catherine McAuley was born in Dublin Ireland in September 1778 to a prosperous Catholic family Her father James McGauley died in 1783 when Catherine was just five years old but his compassion for the poorespecially children and families who lived nearbywas a lifelong example for his eldest daughter

When her mother Elinor died in 1798 Catherine chose to live in the home of relatives some of whom were nonCatholic and had little tolerance for her pious practices In 1803 Catherine was invited to live in the home of William and Catherine Callaghan as a companion to Mrs Callaghan The Callaghans were childless and upon Mr Callaghans death in 1822 Catherine inherited their fortune of pound25000 the equivalent of about pound1048000 or 16 million in todays currency their estate quotfurniture and platequot

In 1824 Catherine used her inheritance to lease property on Baggot Street a fashionable neighborhood in Dublin for the purpose of building a large house for religious educational and social services for women and children Other women intrigued by the house and the work for which it was intended were attracted to Catherine and began to join her preparations for the ministry she planned

On September 24 1827 the Feast of our Lady of Mercy the first residents came to live in the house they called quotthe House of Mercyquot in honor of the day and two years later the chapel was dedicated Between late 1829 and 1830 after prayerful deliberation and consultation Catherine and her associates agreed to found a new religious congregation Though this was not her original intention Catherine began the founding of a new religious congregation of women dedicated to service to the poor

Catherine and two of her associates entered the Convent of the Presentation Sisters in Dublin on Sept 8 1830 to begin formal preparation for founding the Sisters of Mercy Fifteen months later the trio pronounced vows of poverty chastity obedience and to persevere until death in quotthe Congregation of the Sisters of Mercyquot Thus the new community was founded on Dec 12 1831

Catherine lived only 10 years as a Sister of Mercy but in that time she established nine additional autonomous foundations in Ireland and England and two branch houses near Dublin When she died in 1841 there were 150 Sisters of Mercy Shortly thereafter small groups of sisters left Ireland at the invitation of bishops in Newfoundland New Zealand the United States Argentina and Australia

The first Sisters of Mercy arrived in the United States in 1843 at the invitation of the Bishop of Pittsburgh Their energy in ministering to the sick and economically poor attracted many new members By 1854 Sisters of Mercy had come from Ireland to settle in New York and San Francisco They continued to spread throughout the country establishing schools and hospitals where they went including Durango

Mother Mary Baptist Meyers and four other Sisters of Mercy arrived in the fastgrowing mining town of Durango on April 29 1882 They were recruited from St Louis Missouri by Colorados first bishop Being a nursing and teaching order within four months the sisters were running two schools a temporary orphanage and a small hospital attached to one of the schools

The Sisters community involvement and membership grew over time with the establishment of the orders first Colorado motherhouse in Durango and their expansion into other Colorado communities During her 18 years in Colorado Mother Baptist sent Sisters of Mercy to Ouray Cripple Creek Manitou Springs and Denver She eventually moved the motherhouse to Denver because funding opportunities were greater for the numerous charities and nonprofits operated by the religious order But Mother Baptist never abandoned Durango she died on her final trip to the Durango convent

Although the Sisters of Mercy are no longer involved in the hospitals operation Mercy Regional Medical Center honorsand continuesthe Sisters legacy of care