Mercy Medical Center
in Oshkosh is celebrating 125 Years
Between now and the
final celebration in September, we will share some stories and facts to show
how far we have come in furthering the vision of the initial Sisters.
1918 Flu Epidemic hits Oshkosh
Shortly after the
Sisters took over Mercy Lakeside, the 1918 flu epidemic spread so rapidly that
Mercy and St Marys were unable to accommodate patients. The city opened a saloon as a temporary
hospital and put the Sisters in charge.
Sr. Mehrinda Gehring, in
charge of nursing students, recorded briefly the history of the epidemic :
“The city police and
ambulance took beds and everything wlse needed to this ‘hospital.’ We Sisters went back and forth by ambulance
and patrol wagon, the same vihicles used to convey the sick and the dead of
which there were many. Already on the
first day this emergency hospital opened, the house was filled and every
patient was fearfully sick. When the
police and ambulance men had Sisters in their wagons they would blow their
sirens extra loud, making everyone get out of the way.’
– Sr. Mary Josue in History
of St. Mary’s Home for the Aged and Mercy Hospital 1891 -1976.
Read more
about History of Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI :
History
of St. Mary's Home for the Aged and Mercy Hospital 1891-1976 (pdf) by Sr. Mary Josue, written in 1976.
These
short articles appeared in Jeremy Normington-Slay's Friday News & Notes
emails sent out to all Mercy employees in 2016. The historical and
Archival Material was provided by Michele Matucheski, Librarian and Archivist
at Mercy Medical Center.
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