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For more than 50 years, Mercy Hospital served the health needs of the Slaton community. In 1927, Msgr. Thomas D. O'Brien, then rector of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, joined with a delegation of Slaton citizens to plan a new hospital. Father O'Brien invited the Sisters of Mercy, a national Catholic charity organization, to build and operate the facility. The Slaton chamber of commerce conducted a financial campaign for the hospital, and with the help of Slaton businessmen, railroad company officials and employees, and other citizens, property was purchased and initial capital was collected. Brennan Construction Company of Amarillo completed a four-story building which was dedicated on November 27, 1929. The hospital struggled at first; a benefactor did not contribute a promised gift, leaving the hospital with tremendous debt going into the Great Depression. In addition, during the 1930s the population of Slaton decreased, banks closed and doctors moved away. However, the Sisters of Mercy endured and the hospital repaid most of its debt by 1944, and a convent was added in 1952. By the late 1960s, the patient court started to dwindle, and in 1971, the Sisters of Mercy turned over control of the facility as the Slaton Memorial Foundation was established. In 1985, Mercy Hospital closed, and the Lubbock Catholic diocese has since used the building for other purposes. Throughout its existence, Mercy Hospital was an essential healthcare provider in Slaton. Many residents, including employees of the Santa Fe Railroad Company, received patient care at the facility. Today, Mercy Hospital's legacy is of a medical facility that provided for critical needs of the Slaton community for 56 years. (2009) |
