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Mercy
Memorial Foundation
Healthcare at a New Level:
Building on our past
The need for healthcare in
southern Oklahoma
After the end of World War II, there was general concern
over the lack of adequate healthcare facilities in Ardmore and throughout
southern Oklahoma. Ardmore was served by two small private hospitals, the
newer one having been built during World War I. Rural areas had few, if any,
healthcare facilities. In 1947, the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce determined
that the priority project of the Chamber would be the construction of a new
hospital.
The initial investment
Soon an informal working committee had been organized,
and by mid-1950 an educational, charitable and cultural trust had been formed to finance and build a
community hospital. The hospital site was purchased, and when the fund drive
appealed to the public, gifts from some 1,600 donors throughout the area
exceeded $1.1 million.
Combined with a federal grant of $675,000, Oklahoma’s
first fully air-conditioned hospital was completed at a cost of more than
$1.6 million, a huge amount by standards of the day. The new hospital opened
in 1955, a handsome five-story, 35,800-square-foot, 100-bed facility. It was
hailed as one of the finest such facilities in the country, “representing
the very latest in design and equipment.”
A new partner
Through the years, the hospital has modernized and added
to its facilities. In 1996, in light of the increasing healthcare challenges
facing hospitals, a decision was made to consider alignment with a major
health system. The intent was to find a partner with a strong community
orientation and similar values – one that would increase the hospital’s
ability to offer a broader range of services to the community. In 1996,
Memorial Hospital of Southern Oklahoma chose as their partner Mercy Health
System of Oklahoma, a member of the Sisters of Mercy Health System.
A heritage of service
The Sisters of Mercy were no strangers to southern
Oklahoma. In 1898, five Sisters of Mercy established St. Agnes’ Academy of
Ardmore in Indian Territory as a boarding school for young women. Over the
years, the school changed as the community grew, eventually becoming St.
Mary’s Catholic School. In 1968, after nearly 70 years of service, the
school closed. The return of the Sisters of Mercy in 1996 continues their
ministry to southern Oklahoma. |
