DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Mercy Hospital in Slaton, Texas — and friend, this is one worth hearing. Pull over if you need to, because this story's got grit. In 1927, Msgr.
Thomas D. O'Brien — then rector of St. Joseph's Catholic Church — sat down with a delegation of Slaton citizens and started planning a new hospital.
He reached out to the Sisters of Mercy, a national Catholic charity organization, and invited them to build and operate the facility. That right there was the seed of something that would last more than half a century. The Slaton chamber of commerce got to work runnin' a financial campaign, and they pulled together businessmen, railroad company officials and employees, and ordinary citizens to purchase property and collect the capital to get this thing off the ground.
Brennan Construction Company up out of Amarillo put up a four-story building, and on November 27, 1929 — now hold that date in your mind — it was dedicated. Four stories. A real institution rising up out of the South Plains.
But here's where the story takes a turn. A benefactor who had promised a significant gift never came through. That left Mercy Hospital carrying tremendous debt.
And the timing could not have been worse — they were walking straight into the Great Depression. Through the 1930s, Slaton's population shrank, banks closed, and doctors moved away. Most operations in that situation fold, quietly and without ceremony.
But the Sisters of Mercy were not most operations. They endured. They kept those doors open, kept tending to the sick, and by 1944 the hospital had repaid most of its debt.
In 1952, a convent was added. By the late 1960s, though, the patient count started to dwindle, and in 1971 the Sisters of Mercy turned over control of the facility as the Slaton Memorial Foundation was established. The hospital kept going until 1985, when Mercy Hospital finally closed.
The Lubbock Catholic diocese has since used the building for other purposes. Throughout all of it — the debt, the Depression, the decades of service — Mercy Hospital was an essential healthcare provider for that community. Employees of the Santa Fe Railroad Company were among the many residents who received care within those walls.
Fifty-six years, Slaton could count on it. That is the legacy the marker names: a medical facility that provided for the critical needs of the Slaton community for fifty-six years. The Sisters of Mercy came when they were invited, stayed when it was hard, and left something behind that the town still stands in.
What the marker says
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)