St. Mary's Hospital (Madison, Wisconsin)

St. Mary's Hospital is a 440-bed not-for-profit hospital located in Madison, Wisconsin that serves 18 surrounding south-central Wisconsin counties. It is a part of the SSM Health Care system based in St. Louis. Sister hospitals in Wisconsin include St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo and St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital.

History

SSM Health Care traces its roots to 1872, when Mother Mary Odilia Berger and four other sisters came to St. Louis from Germany, after caring for sick and wounded soldiers during the Franco-Prussian War. Facing religious persecution in Germany, they came to the United States. When they arrived in St. Louis they began providing nursing care to people in their own homes. That winter, when a smallpox epidemic hit St. Louis, the sisters cared for the sick and dying. For a short time, people referred to them as the Smallpox Sisters. In 1874, the congregation received its formal name: the Sisters of St. Mary (SSM).

Forty years later, eight sisters followed Mother Odilia's mission when they arrived in Wisconsin at the request of several Madison physicians and local clergy to establish a "Sisters' Hospital" for the city of Madison. Through the vision and hard work of the sisters, four physicians and four lay nurses, St. Mary's Hospital opened its doors and its 70 beds on September 22, 1912.

Recognition

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Coordinates: 43°03′33″N 89°24′09″W / 43.05921°N 89.40248°W / 43.05921; -89.40248


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