Sacred Heart Hospital

Description

Who We Are
Sacred Heart Hospital an affiliate of Hospital Sisters Health System is a 344licensed bed acute care hospital that also provides Emergency Medical and Trauma Center and Regional Cancer Center services The hospital provides residents of western Wisconsin the latest in medical care in a wide range of specialties including neurosurgery cardiovascular services womens health cancer trauma and critical care Primary health services include surgical intensive obstetric with level two nursery behavioral health medical oncology pediatric neurology orthopedic surgical and inpatient physical rehabilitation The emergency department is designated a level three trauma center and has an adjacent helicopter pad for emergency transport Outpatient services include diagnostic and therapeutic services ambulatory surgery radiation oncology dialysis and rehabilitation services The hospital is a Primary Stroke Center and offers leading edge medicine that includes advanced technologies in diagnostics treatment and neurosurgery This technology includes two Smart OR surgical suites with an iMRI and iCT one of the few suites of its kind in the nation for brain spine and trauma patients two da Vinci surgical robots IMRT and IGRT cardiac catheterization advanced interventional radiology procedures and a stateoftheart Biplane Angiography Suite

Mission Vision and Core Values
Our Mission
The primary purpose of Sacred Heart Hospital is to provide a structure and the means whereby the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis can continue their apostolic mission to serve the sick the aged the poor and the terminally ill without regard to race color creed or national origin The primary concern of Sacred Heart Hospital and the Hospital Sisters is the patients wellbeingspiritual physical psychological and social

Our Vision
We will provide quality and costeffective healthcare for the Chippewa Valley and western Wisconsin region in partnership with others while maintaining the tradition and values of the Hospital Sisters

Our Core Values
Four foundational core values drive everything we do here at Sacred Heart Hospital At our hospital you can expect to be treated with respect in a compassionate caring environment within the tradition of the Hospital Sisters These values form the foundation of our service standards and our quality and safety As a Catholic hospital our culture of excellence is made possible by a daily focus on these foundational core valuesvalues so important to us they are printed on every employees identification tag

Respect
the Franciscan reverence for the life and dignity of each individual person no matter what age or station in life It is a commitment to freeing and empowering each person to develop to his or her full potential

Care
the concern compassion and sensitivity with which we care for patients as individuals It represents our way of dealing with patients their loved ones coworkers and fellow employees Care is not merely behavior at the bedside it is found throughout the hospital boardrooms business offices and at breakfast in the cafeteria Our task for the past 121 years has been to bring the healing peace and hope of Jesus Christ to the sick the aged the poor and the terminally ill We have never turned away anyone who needed our care when we had the capability to meet that need

Competence
our work is performed and the hospital is managed with the highest level of skill and ability Sacred Heart is committed to recruiting and developing people who are competent in their work and who support the hospitals Franciscan healing mission We take pride in hiring the best and the brightest and we invest in the personal and professional growth of all members of our hospital family Ongoing training is important to provide staff with the latest information they need to serve you and to keep our community healthy

Joy
the manner in which our employees and all who join us in our healing ministry seek to perform their work There is great joy and satisfaction in caring for others From direct patient care to physician employee and volunteer celebrations to picnics and awards banquets joy is an essential ingredient in bringing a sense of hope to those who suffer and it is something celebrated together as a hospital family

History

History
The history of Sacred Heart Hospital of Eau Claire Wisconsin began approximately 120 years ago on October 7 1889 when two Hospital Sisters of Saint Francis came from their Motherhouse in Springfield Illinois to Eau Claire Their work in establishing the first hospital began in the residence of Mrs J Fitzpatrick located in the 100 block of Putnam Street In the following spring a new threestory building was erected on the northeast hill facing north Dewey Street with accommodations for 50 patients The new hospital served 275 patients in the first year It grew to meet community needs the total patients in the following year increased to 422 for 9903 days of nursing care By 1901 the patient load reached 666 for 16972 days of care

On July 28 1890 the Articles of Incorporation of the Hospital were sent to Madison Wisconsin and were acknowledged on August 1 under the title of the quotHospital of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of the Sisters of St Francisquot As new area physicians added demand for hospital care a second unit of the hospital was built in 1912 and a west wing which enlarged the institution to 160 beds The hospital then had its special entrance for patients arriving by horsedrawn ambulance This addition also provided a major surgery facility with the latest equipment for the administrations of ether and nitrous oxide anesthetics Sun parlors for convalescing patients and more rooms for patients were included

An entirely new activity began in August 1917 with the opening of a School of Nursing The first class totaling seven graduated on August 26 1920 The school continued to grow and in 1924 an addition was constructed In 1926 a gift of 100000 from Mrs Mary Dulaney made possible the construction of a new wing with 120 additional beds Further gifts from Mrs Dulaney in the early 1930s made it possible for the Hospital Sisters to remodel the original building as well as to complete the maternity and childrens section

By 1937 the School of Nursing established in 1917 had to be discontinued in favor of enlarged technical departments due to advances in radiology pathology and bacteriology

From 1926 to 1952 the annual number of patients grew nearly 150 to a total of 8327 persons receiving 64327 days of care New developments in physiotherapy demanded additional space for beds Overcrowded conditions made it imperative that a new hospital be built

Sacred Heart Hospital having twice outgrown its physical capacity due to expanded services opened a new era in 1962 Sister Clarine Administrator responding to local advice acquired the excellent site on Clairemont Avenue On June 29 1962 Reverend Mother M Odilia OSF Mother General of the Hospital Sisters of Saint Francis came from Munich in Westphalia Germany to turn the first spade of earth at the groundbreaking for the 12000000 Sacred Heart Hospital of Eau Claire

Most significant was the support for this project demonstrated by the Eau Claire community which organized to provide more than 800000 to supplement federal and borrowed funds to create the modern facility

An open house was held at the completed structure on November 13 1964 and the Hospital was formally dedicated on December 6 1964 It was the 75th anniversary of the founding of Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire Patients and personnel moved into the new facility on December 14 1964 without a single unhappy incident Twentyfour Sisters in a variety of positions were on the Hospital staff during this period

The ground and first floors housed the administrative offices waiting rooms Pharmacy Dietary Department Cafeteria Physical Therapy Radiology and Laboratory Central Sterilizing Department and space for employee lockers The next six floors were patient care units assigned for 175 general medicalsurgical 20 psychiatric 24 maternity and 38 pediatric patients The eighth and ninth floors were constructed in order to provide for future expansion but at this time the interior was not completed

A special section of the new construction provided for the Sisters convent the chapel and auditorium another for boiler mechanical equipment and laundry Early in 1968 it became apparent that additional beds were needed to satisfy the growing demand for hospitalization from the growing medical staff It was decided in June 1968 to complete the interior of the eighth and ninth floors of the hospital as additional patient units When finished the hospital in 1969 provided a capacity of 390 adult and pediatric beds and 22 bassinets

Soon after the opening of the new Sacred Heart Hospital in 1964 a number of outstanding improvements were made These included a more efficient centralized system in the Medical Records Department addition of the Occupational Therapy Department electronic data processing the initiation of a new battery of 20 diagnostic laboratory tests known as the quotChemScreenquot the purchase of an automated magnascanner for the Radiology Department and the installation of four cardiac monitors in the Intensive Care Unit

In the fall of 1971 as part of the equipment for the new department of nuclear medicine the hospital installed a 60000 Pho Gamma Camera In the early part of 1973 the LE Phillips Charities Inc donated a total of 61630 to the institution Of this amount 29130 was designated for the development of a rehabilitation unit and 32500 for the purchase of diagnostic ultrasound equipment

The LE Phillips Rehabilitation Center on the Hospitals 9th floor was built through the grant This physical restoration facility became one of only nine generalhospitalbased programs of this nature in Wisconsin to receive full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities in 1978

A major expansion at Sacred Heart came about with the opening of neurodiagnostic and neurosurgical capabilities in the Hospital In 1975 a Special Procedures section was established in the Radiology Department In 1976 through one of its largest grants the LE Phillips Charities made possible the LE Phillips Radiology Center with the areas first CT Head and Body Scanner

Sacred Heart Hospital began a new era of expansion in 2002 when ground was broken for construction of the 35 million Advanced Center for Medicine and Surgery and later the expansion of the Emergency Medical and Trauma Center and Regional Cancer Center These two expansions marked the beginning of a phenomenal period of growth and development for the hospital These expansions included the opening of a new Lobby and Gift Shop as well as a new Center for Spiritual Care Other areas included a new Center for Critical Care a Center for Surgical Intensive Care a Community Auditorium and Center for Medical Excellence a new Central Sterilizing Department and two new Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories

In May 2007 the new Center for Imaging was also completed and opened on the east side of the Hospital This 25 million investment in technology and facilities produced the largest and most comprehensive imaging facility between Minneapolis and Madison The Center features a new 3 Tesla MRI the most powerful clinical magnet in the industry

In October 2008 Sacred Heart Hospital opened its Smart OR surgical suite Our hospital is one of a very few in the country to have this amazing system for brain spine and trauma patients We are the first hospital in Wisconsin and the first hospital ever of our size to have both a BrainSUITEreg with IMRIS intraoperative MRI iMRI and BrainSUITE intraoperative CT iCT Smart OR suites for neurosurgery spine and trauma patients Click here to learn more about our revolutionary Smart OR program

Sacred Heart Monument to the Work of Many Hands Long is the list of Sisters physicians nurses technologists aides workers and volunteers who share ownership of Sacred Hearts heritage of care and to whom current and future generations are deeply indebted There have been dedicated administrators chaplains nurses physicians surgeons generous donors volunteers and thousands of employees who ultimately made it all happen Without them the Eau Claire community would have been deprived Because of them Eau Claire is a better home for all of us They are known to Him Who rewards in fullest measure

They have also laid the foundations on which we to whom the future is entrusted must continue to build The reassuring consoling presence of Sacred Heart in our community cannot be taken for granted

Just as many hands carried on Sacred Hearts mission in the past so too will many hands be called on to carry forward its spirits and help preserve its heritage of care in the future Part and parcel of regional Eau Claire Sacred Heart Hospital is pledged with the help of its friends to hear and respond to see need and provide to safeguard and to share the heritage of care which is its legacy