History

Mercy Hospital Cadillac was a gift to the Cadillac community, established in 1908, and entrusted to the administration of the Sisters of Mercy in recognition of their care of the benefactor at Mercy Hospital in Chicago.

The first annual report spoke of the pressing need for more beds. This need encouraged, in part, the donation of the F.A. Diggins residence on the corner of Shelby and Harris Streets to the Sisters of Mercy as a nurses' residence. The Sisters graciously accepted and transferred the occupants of the third floor of the hospital, including themselves, to the Diggins home to provide more patient rooms on the third floor of Mercy Hospital.

In 1952 the Mercy School of Practical Nursing was founded and established for the purpose of providing post high school educational opportunities in the Cadillac area. A total of 1,115 students graduated from this program between 1952 and its closing in 1985. In the last 16 years of its existence, Mercy School of Practical Nursing ranked either first or second in the State of Michigan based on the State Board scores of its graduates.

For a brief moment in June, 1977, the old and new touched as the original 69 year-old structure was demolished. Sister Mary Ricardo Gentle, RSM, Administrator, said in her remarks at the razing, "It's a day of joy and sadness...but it's not only the bricks and mortar that make a hospital, it's the people that work there and the patients they serve too..." For three years construction continued. Officials at Mercy Hospital Cadillac and the community were proud of the uninterrupted service provided by the employees.

Services began moving into the "new" building in March 1978, and on July 8, 1978, the formal dedication took place. The project was finished at a cost of $14.5 million dollars and praised as being "...one of the finest facilities of its size in Michigan." Mercy became Cadillac’s second largest employer with over 500 employees and 30 physicians at that time.

If you have any unresolved concerns about patient care and safety at Mercy Hospital Cadillac, please contact our Patient Relations Office at (231) 876-7473.

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