MMC-125 : Polio Epidemic Hits Oshkosh in 1955

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.

1955 Polio Epidemic hits Oshkosh

“In 1955, Wisconsinites saw the worst polio epidemic in state history.  Although the Salk vaccine would become effective in April, Wisconsin reported 921 cases and 134 deaths due to polio by August.  The Fox Valley had more polio cases per population than anywhere else in the country.  Residents quarantined their children, canceled public events and gave money to The March of Dimes …

March of Dimes assistance included transportation, braces, shoes,  and physical therapy.  The organization also donated equipment to hospitals and hired staff.  To cope with the Oshkosh epidemic, the March of Dimes provided three general duty nurses to the polio ward at Mercy Hospital.  During the 1955 epidemic, Mercy was equipped with iron lungs for its patients.”  (p.139-40)

– Ron La Point in Oshkosh : The Way We Were : Remembering People and Places , c2009

Learn more about the Polio Epidemic :

A Paralyzing Fear [dvd] : The Story of Polio in America 

DVD HIC WC 555 P221 2005     Available at the MMC Library

Read more about  History of Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI :

                Library Archives LibGuide – Mercy Medical Center

                The Hallmarks of Mercy Historical Display (Digital)

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. 

MMC-125 : The Mercy School of Nursing

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.

Mercy School of Nursing

1931   Construction commences on the five-story Nursing School and dormitory.

In 1887, the Lakeside Training School for Nurses was founded by Dr M.E. Corbett.  This was also taken over by the Sisters and became Mercy Hospital School of Nursing.

St. Mary’s Hospital officially opened its professional school of nursing in the summer of 1914.  But it would not be until 1931 that the nurses would have a separate residence and educational unit, which they would be able to call home.

The Mercy School of Nursing was closed in 1982 after graduating more than 1,730 nurses through the years. 

Diploma and practical nursing programs were phased out in the 1980s.  Only two Registered Nursing (R.N.) programs would remain : the 2-year associate degree and the 4-year bachelor of science degree.

MSN Alumni continue to celebrate their history at an annual dinner in June.

Read more about  History of Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI :

                Library Archives LibGuide – Mercy Medical Center

                The Hallmarks of Mercy Historical Display (Digital)

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. 

MMC-125 : The 1918 Flu Epidemic Hits Oshkosh

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 the 1918 Flu Epidemic in Winnebago County,Wisconsin.

Read more about  History of Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI :

                Library Archives LibGuide – Mercy Medical Center

                The Hallmarks of Mercy Historical Display (Digital)

                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. 

MMC-125 : Mercy Hospital Begins as Lakeside

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.

Mercy Hospital begins as Lakeside

1917  The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother take over Lakeside Sanitarium, the Physician’s Hospital built in 1912 across from Menomonee Park, and lead by Dr. M.E. Corbett.   

After only 5 years, Lakeside was having financial difficulties and Dr. Corbett knew that if the Sisters ran it, it would be efficient, and continue to operate well into the future.  The Sisters reluctantly purchased it for about $40,000, half of what it cost to build it.  Soon after, the Sisters renamed it Mercy Hospital. 

At that time, The Sisters were also running St. Mary’s Hospital, about 4 blocks away on Merritt St. in Oshkosh. 

This Lakeside Hospital booklet dates back to 1911-17, showing many images from the state-of-the-art facility.   The booklet has about 20 pages.    The original resides in the Lakeside Hospital file of the Mercy Medical Center Library Archives.  

Read more about  History of Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI :

      Library Archives LibGuide – Mercy Medical Center

      The Hallmarks of Mercy Historical Display (Digital)

       History of St. Mary's Home for the Aged and Mercy Hospital 1891-1976 (pdf)   by Sr. Mary Josue, written in 1976.

        St. Mary's Hospital, Oshkosh, WI - Chapter XII from The Red Book (pdf)  45 pages

        Mercy Medical Center, Oshkosh, WI - Chapter XIII from The Red Book (pdf) 28 pages

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. 

Humble Beginnings for St. Mary's Hospital in Oshkosh

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. The first of these is below about our humble beginnings.

Thank you for all you do at Mercy for the patients we have served for 125 years.

  

Humble Beginnings of St. Mary's Hospital

   

In early 1891, the Reverend Roman Scholter, Pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Oshkosh convinces Mother M. Frances Streitel, Superior General of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, to establish a hospital in the city.  An old 2-story building on the corner of Merritt and Boyd Streets is purchased for $6,074.71. 

·         On Feb 25,  10 Sisters arrive in Oshkosh, from Marshfield, to clean, scrub, and prepare the building for patients.         

·         By March 11, 1891, they were ready to see patients in the temporary Hospital, with room for 15 beds.

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.  

Nativity Set a Mercy Holiday Tradition

A special piece of Mercy Medical Center's history has found a place of honor this holiday season.    A hand-painted nativity set that was rediscovered at the back of a little-used closet of the old hospital in 1980, is now proudly displayed behind the glass protection of a display case.

The nativity set was quite old and in sad condition when it was first found.  However, the loving hands of Volunteer Dolly Pahlow set to work attaching broken pieces and even recreating an angel wing when needed.  She spent months patching and painting the 20 figures in their original colors with the encouragement of former food service director, Bob Brennan.

In the years since, the manger scene has traditionally been displayed in the open in the cafeteria at both the old and new Mercy Medical Center Buildings.  It is currently on display in one of the Hallmarks of Mercy display cases, outside The Clark Family Health Science Library.

Read more about this set :  Articles 1&2   Article 3   (Affinity / Ministry access only.)