Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, Ill., is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a gala, monthly tributes, an online memory book and video.
Each month, the medical center is posting on its website a tribute to a group that has contributed to Provena Mercy's legacy. January brought a statement of thanks to employees; February, to patients; and March, to physicians.
Also online, the hospital is encouraging people to share their Provena Mercy memories. One contributor described how staff supported her and her family when she gave birth to twins. "As a result of my experience, I've gone back to school to get my degree in nursing," the woman wrote. "I hope I can work with some amazing professionals like I met at Mercy."
In another entry in the online memory book, an employee recounted a commissioning ceremony for the hospital's chief executive, saying, "It was a special day and really defined how our faith is woven into all we do."
Provena Mercy's website also features a five-minute video tracing the hospital's growth since the Sisters of Mercy first began providing medical services in Aurora in 1911, in what was once an apartment building. Within a few years, the video shows, they opened a psychiatric facility north of Aurora. In 1931, they opened a replacement facility at that site that they called St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. Forty-plus years later, they built a new hospital on that campus that they called Mercy Center for Health Care Services.
The facility joined with other Catholic hospitals in 1997 to become Provena Health. Now called Provena Mercy Medical Center, the campus includes a 356-bed hospital with a surgery center, birthing center, chest pain center, cardiovascular institute and diabetic wellness center.
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