A BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR ENDURING LEGACY

On September 24, 1827, Catherine McAuley opened a house on Baggot Street in Dublin to provide shelter, education, work training and child care for homeless women and orphans.

Born in 1778 to James and Elinor McAuley, her parents practiced and instilled in her a belief in caring for the needs of the poor around them at a time when it was far from fashionable to be an Irish Catholic. Her father died in 1783, and when her mother passed away in 1798, Catherine and her siblings were left penniless.

Catherine joined the household of William and Catherine Callahan as a companion in 1803, and the couple legally adopted her several years later. During this time, she began to catechize the servants in the household and began her legacy of reaching out to the poor. Eventually, both of the Callahans converted to Catholicism, and at William's death in 1822, Catherine McAuley inherited a sum of money equivalent to approximately $1 million in late 20th century terms.

Her inheritance would become a resource for the poor as she used it first to establish the House of Mercy on Baggot Street. She recruited other women to help in her cause, and she and some of her companions took vows as the first Sisters of Mercy in 1831. By the time of her death in 1841, the order had expanded throughout Ireland and England. Two years later, the first order of sister of Mercy in America was founded in Pittsburgh.

In 1882, Mother Mary Baptist Meyers and four Sisters crossed the frontier to Durango to establish Mercy Hospital of the San Juans, the forebear of our current hospital. In tracing our roots from 2002 back to the opening of the House of Mercy in 1827, we honor the legacy of Catherine McAuley that has nourished our community and our mission for almost 120 years.

Although the Sisters of Mercy founded Mercy Hosptial in Durango in 1882, the original part of this building was not constructed until 1884. The sisters completed the addition with the tower in 1892 (top-right image). Generations of local residents were born in or treated for illnesses and accidents in this native sandstone building before it was demolished in the late 1960's.

From the moment you arrive at Mercy Regional Medical Center, you become part of a legacy of care that has spanned more than 120 years. Since our doors opened in 1882, our mission has been excellence. We strive to lead the region in the diagnosis and treatment of illness and injury. Above all, we aim to provide the highest quality health care and service to all of our patients.

We know that good care involves more than good medicine—that's why we focus on healing body, mind and sprit, and our concern for you extends to every part of your stay. We want your experience at Mercy Regional Medical Center to be as pleasant and as comfortable as possible.

The mission of Mercy Medical Center and its parent organization, Catholic Health Initiatives, is to nurture the healing ministry of the Church by bringing it new life, energy and viability in the 21st century.

Fidelity to the Gospel urges us to emphasize human dignity and social justice as we move toward the creation of healthier communities.

Medical staff at Mercy is comprised of 135 board-certified physicians who represent 35 medical specialties and sub-specialties One of the largest employers in Durango with more than 700 full and part-time employees

Mercy Regional Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is our policy to recruit, employ, train, and promote personnel for all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age; and to base decisions of employment and promotion on an individual's qualifications as related to the requirements of the position to be filled. Mercy Regional Medical Center complies with all applicable equal employment laws.