PRINTER'S NO. 1457
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
267
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY WILLIAMS, JANUARY 31, 2018
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JANUARY 31, 2018
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the commencement of service by
the Sisters of Mercy of Mercy Philadelphia Hospital and
Trinity Health.
WHEREAS, In 1913, the Most Reverend Edmond Francis
Prendergast, third Archbishop of Philadelphia, asked the Sisters
of Mercy to build a much-needed hospital in West Philadelphia;
and
WHEREAS, Possessing only $2,000, Mother Patricia Waldron
raised the funds needed to build the hospital by mortgaging the
convents while several sisters traveled to Pittsburgh and
Baltimore to train as nurses and others learned pharmacy and
pathology nearby; and
WHEREAS, On September 24, 1916, during the Feast of Our Lady
of Mercy, the cornerstone of the hospital was laid by the Right
Reverend Bishop John J. McCort in the presence of 30,000 event
attendees, including Governor Martin Grove Brumbaugh; and
WHEREAS, On June 15, 1918, the hospital, known as
Misericordia Hospital, was formally announced in a Catholic
newspaper, The Catholic Standard and Times, as "conceived in
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faith, built in hope, and opened in the name of Christian
charity"; and
WHEREAS, The hospital's official opening was celebrated on
July 2, 1918, with a mass in the hospital chapel celebrated by
the Right Reverend Bishop McCort; and
WHEREAS, The hospital admitted the first patient on July 4,
1918, and the Misericordia Hospital School of Nursing opened on
July 14 of that year; and
WHEREAS, By 1926, the hospital's initial 100 beds had
expanded to 250, and by 1930 there were more than 1,000
attending (inpatient) staff, more than 870 outpatient staff,
more than 5,300 patient admissions, 4,028 operations, 845 births
and 18,357 patients treated for emergency visits; and
WHEREAS, In 1933, the Sisters of Mercy were asked to
administer a second hospital, Fitzgerald Mercy, located in
nearby Darby; and
WHEREAS, In the 1940s and 1950s, Misericordia Hospital
experienced much growth, including the construction of new wings
and expansion of the operating room suite and the radiology,
pathology and OB/GYN departments; and
WHEREAS, On January 31, 1960, more than 2,300 people attended
an open house for the official opening of two modern wings of
the hospital, which were built in 1958, represented $5 million
in development investment and included a capacity of 400 beds, a
new 10-bed intensive care unit, a new pediatrics department, a
chapel, a surgical floor and three lecture classrooms for nurses
and interns; and
WHEREAS, With the addition of these two wings, Misericordia
Hospital became the largest Catholic hospital in Philadelphia in
1960; and
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WHEREAS, For the hospital's 50th anniversary, Bishop George
L. Leech of Harrisburg celebrated an outdoor mass on July 2,
1968, in front of the hospital; and
WHEREAS, In its first 50 years, between 1918 and 1968, the
hospital had 326,959 admissions, 65,732 births, 170,232
operations, 623,379 emergency room visits, 1,177,068 clinic
visits, 1,884 nurse graduates and 506 interns and residents; and
WHEREAS, Demographic changes during the 1960s and early 1970s
caused the use of both maternity and pediatric services to
decline markedly; and
WHEREAS, In 1988, Misericordia Hospital began a period of
renewal and growth establishing Mercy Health Corporation as the
parent organization to provide administrative guidance for
Misericordia Hospital and its sister facility, Fitzgerald Mercy
Hospital, as well as to further develop other health care
initiatives; and
WHEREAS, Back from the brink of possible closure, in 1991 the
hospital launched a five-year, $52 million renovation to include
a 440-car parking garage, renovated surgical suites and recovery
rooms, upgraded nursing units and patient rooms, a computerized
alarm system and new imaging technology; and
WHEREAS, To help meet children's health care needs in West
Philadelphia, Misericordia Hospital dedicated the Huey Family
Health Center in November 1992, providing physicians, pediatric
nurse practitioners and support staff offering medical and
health-related services, including immunizations, checkups and
early intervention to more than 900 children; and
WHEREAS, By 1993, the hospital was responding to specific
community needs by focusing its clinical services on cardiology,
oncology and maternal child health, having been chosen to
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participate in a nationwide model program of 49 hospitals
designed to identify and meet community health care needs; and
WHEREAS, In 1997, Misericordia Hospital became known as Mercy
Philadelphia Hospital; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the second decade of the 21st century,
Mercy Philadelphia Hospital has continued to provide high-
quality, safe and compassionate care to the West Philadelphia
community; and
WHEREAS, Mercy Philadelphia Hospital is deeply engrained in
the densely populated local community, with most patients coming
from within a five-mile radius and with community outreach and
charity continuing to be an important aspect of the hospital's
relationship with the West Philadelphia community; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, Mercy Health System's parent organization
announced its new name as Trinity Health and revealed a new
branding identity and strategy for the system that emphasized a
people-centered approach to its service to individuals and
communities; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the 100th anniversary of the
commencement of service by the Sisters of Mercy of the Mercy
Philadelphia Hospital and Trinity Health; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the steadfast dedication
of Mercy Philadelphia Hospital's and Trinity Health's staff and
leadership to West Philadelphia and the surrounding communities
which they serve; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate Mercy Philadelphia
Hospital and Trinity Health on their record of achievement and
service in reaching the remarkable milestones described in this
resolution.
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