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  ercy
Health System of Kansas, Inc. had very modest beginnings. Two sisters
of Mercy arrived in Fort Scott, Kansas on April 26, 1896. They were from
Big Rapids, Michigan, on their way to California. They stopped for Sunday
services and were offered hospitality for the weekend in Fort Scott. During
that visit, the parish priest related to them the needs of the people
in this area. He was so convincing in his story that the Sisters decided
not to go to California, but to return to Michigan to request permission
to move to Fort Scott where there was grave need for a school. Father
Watron, the parish priest, had received word that the Sisters would return.
He though that a school was in great demand. However, as he started talking
with the people in Fort Scott, it was determined that the greatest need
was for a hospital, not a school. A hospital was prepared for the Sisters
to manage upon their return. Upon their arrival, they found a small hospital
of 10 beds ready and waiting for operation. Since the Sisters had experience
with caring for the sick and injured prior to coming to Fort Scott, they
set about opening Mercy Hospital. Operations began with the two Sisters
and two lay women, one as a night nurse, the other as business manager.
This hospital served the community for a few years, but it was too small
to meet the community's needs. Land was donated on Tower Hill (Burke Street)
and a 50-bed, four-story structure was erected. This new facility was
the pride of the city. It cost $40,000 and was the largest, most modern
hospital in eastern Kansas. In 1929, some local physicians thought an
alternative hospital was necessary, so a second hospital was opened in
downtown Fort Scott. Now the civic community had a choice between Mercy
Hospital and the Fort Scott Hospital. In a few years, beds in the Burke
Street hospital were scarce. So in 1929, arrangements were made to sell
the Fort Scott, or Main Street Hospital, to the Sisters of Mercy to serve
as an annex to Mercy Hospital.
  nother
opportunity was presented to the Sisters of Mercy when a group of physicians
who owned and operated a 35-bed hospital in Independence, KS made a decision
to sell this hospital to a Sisterhood. The physicians realized their limitations
as business managers. They contacted the Sisters of Mercy in Fort Scott,
and plans were set in motion for the purchase of this facility. When all
negotiations were completed, the Sisters of Mercy wrote a check for $35,000
for the West Side Hospital and assumed ownership on March 1, 1927. Only
months after the opening of Mercy Hospital in Independence, the community
evidenced the need for more hospital beds, including operating rooms and
other support service areas. Plans were begun to build a 50-bed addition.
Construction went underway in Sept. 1928, and the project was completed
and turned over for occupancy April 19, 1929. All of this was accomplished
without interrupting service. The mission of the two Mercy Hospitals was
progressing nicely. Well qualified physicians settled in Fort Scott and
Independence following World War II. The Mercy Hospitals continued to
provide excellent service to the communities.
  outheast
Kansas experienced growth following the war. This presented a problem
of crowding, especially in the Fort Scott Hospital. So in 1954, plans
for a new hospital in Fort Scot were made. On Jan. 19, 1956, the newly
constructed Mercy Hospital at 821 Burke Street was opened. There have
been renovations and additions to the facility throughout the years. Growth
in the community, changes in health care delivery and the development
of newer technologies again pointed to the fact that the hospital facility
in Independence was not adequate to meet the needs of the community.
  n
June 1960, plans were completed for the expansion project of Mercy Hospital.
Independence was proud of the new construction which was a "round" concept,
the very latest design for hospitals. There have been other additions
to Mercy-Independence. In 1980, an addition provided a new structure for
diagnostic services as well as a state-of-the-art emergency care area.
The 1929 structure still in existence and use was determined to be inadequate
for the surgical patients in the community. In 1990, a new surgery wing
was completed adjacent to the diagnostic service area. Most recently,
the Independence facility's inpatient care services were transferred to
an entirely new ,single-floor hospital wing. Construction of the wing,
a second-floor addition above the outpatient services area, was completed
in December 1997, and designed for patient comfort and high-quality, cost-efficient
care. All levels of impatient care - birthing services, intensive are,
skilled nursing care, general medical and post-surgical care - are provided
on this single floor.
  erhaps
the most monumental development in the history of MHSK is the construction
of the new Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott - a facility which represents
a revolution in rural health care. The doors opened to the new 175,000-square-foot
facility in August 2002. In concept, the new Mercy Health Center has much
to tout. It brings multiple service together under one roof that was previously
spread across the town. The Health Center offers a full continuum of services
devoted to acute care and physician office care, including surgery,
obstetrics and
gynecology, rehabilitation, retail pharmacy…and much more. Today we are
experiencing many changes in health care. What will our future hold? We
are not certain, but this much we know: It is our past that has brought
us to this place and will thrust us into the future. We are rooted in
Jesus' healing ministry, and, faithful to the Sisters of Mercy service
tradition, we will implement and advocate for innovative health and social
service to improve the health and quality of life of individuals and families
in the communities we serve.
Click to access the Catholic
Diocese of
Wichita
home page.
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