The roots of Children’s Mercy Hospital can be traced all the way back to 1897! Two sisters, Dr. Alice Berry Graham and Dr. Katherine Berry Richardson, opened the Free Bed Fund Association of Sick, Crippled, Deformed and Ruptured Children in Kansas City with one bed. Additional children were cared for in outlying homes in the countryside and suburbs of Kansas City. In 1907 ground is broken to construct a hospital, Mercy Hospital, with 50 beds.
Children’s Mercy has always been committed to comprehensive healthcare including academics. In 1910 classroom and even bedside teaching was introduced to help children keep up with school work during extensive stays at the hospital. In the 1920’s Dr. Richardson founded the first research laboratory at Children’s Mercy to study childhood disease. Innovative research continued throughout the years and in 2011 the Pediatric Genome Center opens to develop DNA tests to help solve the mystery of genetic diseases.
In the 1930’s the Great Depression put great strain on the financial aspects of running the hospital. Children’s Mercy persevered the financial hardships through the good will of volunteers providing medical and surgical services.
In the 1950’s and 60’s Children’s Mercy opens a social services department to better help families and patients cope with non-medical needs. A Nutrition Services Program is also created to help fight childhood obesity. By 1971 nearly half of patient referrals were due to this issue!
By December of 1970 Children’s Mercy Hospital is located where we know it to be today. Ground breaking treatments and community programs continue to grow due to fundraising and generous donations from people who want to make a difference in a child’s life. Today Children’s Mercy Hospital has a number of locations throughout the Kansas City area as well as clinics in Wichita.
Children’ Mercy Hospital continues to be on of the “Best Children’s Hospitals” in the United States.
Hopefully this very brief look at the history of the hospital will renew an appreciation for the organization and think about the families the hospital serves on a daily basis. We are especially lucky to have such an amazing resource right here in Kansas City. This is why Terrasi European Collections will donate 10% of all sales from Thursday, December 11th through Sunday, December 14th 2014 to Children’s Mercy Hospital. Hopefully together we can help the hospital continue to save lives, develop new treatments, and comfort the families who turn to Children’s Mercy for the best pediatric care in the region.
Together we can make a difference in a child’s life.
