History
The original Janesville City Hospital was founded in 1883 by Dr. Henry Palmer, a Civil War surgeon general who had trained Daniel Hale Williams. The hospital later became named Palmer Memorial Hospital and was run by his son Dr. William Palmer. It was then bought by the Sisters of Mercy of Chicago who renamed it Palmer Memorial Mercy Hospital. The Mercy Sisters worked as trained nurses during the Civil War, both on the battlefield and in hospitals founded by the order, often bringing health care to soldiers where none existed. After the war they took on the work of public health care, but in the second half of the 20th Century the order began to divest itself of its health care holdings, of which Janesville Mercy was one.
The 1980s saw an increasingly competitive health care environment, and in 1989, Mercy's volunteer board of directors selected Javon R. Bea as its president and CEO. Under Bea, Mercy Health System has grown significantly, achieving national recognition for innovation and aggressive growth.
In 1998, Modern Healthcare magazine ranked Mercy at the top of its "Fastest Fifty", ranking providers by net patient revenue growth (1991-1996). In 2006, Mercy Health System was ranked first in the nation by the AARP for providing employment options for people over age 50. It was also ranked 11th of the Top 100 Integrated Health Networks for 2008 by Modern Healthcare magazine, and received an award for 2006 from the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) green hospitals program. Working Mother magazine listed Mercy among its 100 Best Companies for 2006 for its family-friendly employment policies, which include flexible scheduling, extended leave, workforce re-entry, and affordable day-care.
In 2007, Mercy Health System was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Read more about this topic: Mercy Health System
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more, it is the history of earth and of heaven.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)
“Like their personal lives, women’s history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and the demands of others.”
—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)