St. Joseph Memorial Hospital has been an integral part of the Murphysboro community. Its fascinating history highlights how a group of passionate people came together to create a special place for healing.

In 1895, a railroad accident near Murphysboro created an urgent need for emergency care. Classrooms at St. Andrews School were converted into temporary hospital wards and two Franciscan Sisters from Belleville tended to the injured.

It was a turning point: The people of Murphysboro realized the community needed a more permanent facility. And so they came together as one and historical documents indicate 146 residents generously donated $9,234.79 towards the construction of St. Andrews Hospital.

First opened in 1897 and operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Wheaton, IL, for 58 years, the 29-bed Catholic hospital charged on a weekly basis: $5 for a ward, $6-7 for a double room, and $7-10 for a private room! Hospital income for the first year was $2,139.

The tornado of 1925 brought home the value of having emergency care, when the hospital admitted 187 injured people; 37 of them died.

In 1956, the hospital was sold to the Diocese of Belleville and plans for a modern building and new site soon began. It was clear that the existing site and building could not be expanded and modernized to meet the needs of the community. A 100-acre tract of land was purchased and a public subscription fund drive raised over $600,000, the remainder coming from Government grants.

Built in 1960 at a total cost of $1,700,000, the new St. Joseph Memorial Hospital was operated by Catholic nuns belonging to the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC). The nuns filled the hospital hallways with their white habits flowing behind them, as they carried on their health care ministry.

Sr. Clara Ternes, currently the only nun who remains from the original ASC order, remembers this time in history as if it were yesterday.

“I was assigned to old St. Andrews in anesthesia and the emergency room, back in 1957 and initially we gave basic hospital care,” Ternes says.

The new hospital was named after St. Joseph, the worker, and also in honor of a certain Mr. Joseph Daniel, a local businessman in Murphysboro, who passionately spearheaded the hospital fund drive, reveals Ternes, who is corporate director of Mission, Values & Ethics at Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) today.

At the new hospital, Ternes was on call 24/7 as a nurse anesthetist and supervised the surgery, emergency and recovery rooms. She lived in the east wing of the hospital with the other 11 Sister Adorers. Eventually, as the hospital grew and more space was needed, a new home for the Sisters was built to the south of the hospital.

Long time SIH employee, Mona Kerns, who began her career at St. Joseph, remembers the Sister Adorers as being extremely committed to their mission and also very thrifty by nature.

“Back in that day they used to type board meeting minutes on the back of correspondence mail,” Kerns recalls. “They recycled way before it became popular!”

In 1995, SIH purchased the hospital from the ASC Health System and decided to retain the Catholic identity of the hospital.

“Traditionally, Southern Illinois has been a very religious community,” Ternes says. “It was a wise move to sell to SIH, since our values and mission matched. Also, a small facility like St. Joseph could not have survived on its own.”

The present

Today, St. Joseph Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital, with a 24/7 Emergency Department that responds immediately to patient needs.

In addition to serving the community as an inpatient facility for primary care, the hospital is home to several unique outpatient and diagnostic programs in the region. These include:

• An outpatient counseling program for seniors called the Center for Senior Renewal.
• A nationally accredited Sleep Disorders Center that diagnoses and treats a whole range of sleep disorders, in Murphysboro and Marion.
• A nationally accredited Cardiovascular Pulmonary Rehabilitation center that focuses on optimizing the physical function in patients with cardiac and pulmonary disease.
• A fast growing Ambulatory Surgery Center that enables surgeons to schedule and perform procedures in the specialty areas of gastroenterology, general surgery, pain management, plastic surgery, and urology.
• A relatively new Infusion Therapy Services program that involves the administration of intravenous medication for diseases that are unresponsive to oral antibiotics, cancer and cancer-related pain, dehydration, gastrointestinal diseases and more.
• Top-notch Pain Management Services that offer the latest pain management procedures and services.
• An Imaging Center that offers bone density tests, ultrasounds, 16-slice CT scans, mobile MRIs, X-rays, barium work, biopsies and drainage.
• In addition, plans are in the works for a comprehensive Wound Care Center.

One of Murphysboro’s largest employers, the hospital truly complements the other SIH hospitals in the system.

A perfect example is its participation as a Prairie STAT Heart hospital; a carefully coordinated program with EMS services and the doctors and staff at Prairie Heart Institute-Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.

The emergency department team at St. Joseph plays a vital role in stabilizing heart attack patients in half the time of the national average, safely preparing the patient for transport to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale for further life-saving heart procedures.

And recently, according to Dr. Gerald McClallen, medical director of the Emergency Department and medical chief of staff at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital, they are also working in a similar fashion with stroke patients. “Patients suffering a stroke, can get the critical clot-busting medicine in the St. Joseph ED and then be fast tracked to Carbondale’s Primary Stroke Center.”

Spiritual care at SJMH

A number of scientific studies show a link between prayer, faith and healing.

“I personally believe that faith is a powerful thing,” McClallen says. “When we have a death in the ER, if it’s just happened or happening, whether it’s a holiday, bad weather day or late at night, staff members from the Pastoral Care Department come in and are there. They come for all people. If the family needs a rabbi or someone else, they’ll help them get the right person. They’ll comfort the family and the ER staff who have suffered a loss. Their presence makes all the difference.”

The hospital like all the other hospitals in the SIH system, looks at spiritual care as an integral part of a holistic approach to healthcare. Holding true to its roots, the chapel forms the heart of the hospital and is a place of solace, hope, prayer and healing for patients, family, and staff. Morning and evening prayer help employees focus on their ministry, and is a source of comfort to patients and loved ones.

High satisfaction rates

For three years in a row, St. Joseph Memorial Hospital’s employee and physician satisfaction scores have been in the 99th percentile, nationwide.

“The only thing that differentiates one hospital from another is the experience you have as a patient: the level of service and compassionate care you receive at that hospital,” says David Dworski, senior trainer at Custom Learning Systems Group Limited (CLS), a healthcare consultancy dedicated to creating awareness of best practices around excellence in service.

“The high scores are in large part due to Scott’s (Seaborn) leadership and the implementation of some of the strategies and tools we have been training them on the past two years,” Dworski says.

Seaborn for his part is enthused, “We believe that the strength of who we are rests in the people that work here - the employees, the physicians, the volunteers - everybody that comes through our doors and provides services to our patients. We are very proud of our high scores.”

Hospital spirit

Though the hospital has grown and changed over the years, the spiritual culture of St. Joseph Memorial Hospital flourishes, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Sisters Adorers.

“It remains a healthy, giving spirit, where smaller, personal interactions make a big difference,” Ternes says. “Over the years people throughout the SIH family have really embraced our mission which is guided by our values of compassion, collaboration, quality, stewardship, integrity, accountability and respect.”

McClallen agrees, “It’s a wonderful, small-town community hospital with a young, dedicated medical staff. There are a lot of unsung heroes who go out of their way every day to make this place extra special to every patient who comes in.”

New entryway

Though a small hospital, Seaborn stresses that SIH has invested a lot of money into making the hospital as top-of-the-line as possible.

“We have been working a great deal on infrastructure, as well as, cosmetic renovations and freeing up space for new programs,” Seaborn says. “All these go a long way in making a huge difference.”

On the eve of its 50th anniversary celebration, St. Joseph Memorial Hospital is proud to showcase its newly renovated, $1.4 million main entryway. The new entryway features a 1,200 square foot expansion of the registration area and waiting room near the main entrance, offering expanded seating, more privacy for admissions, two handicapped-accessible restrooms, weather protection to the entrance.

This major project is in addition to many other internal renovations that have taken place in the last several years, resulting in a more modern and efficient facility.

Maintaining a strong presence

“Our future looks very strong,” Seaborn says. “Our intent is to be here and offer excellence in service to the people of Murphysboro and southern Illinois and to maintain a strong presence regionally.”

Seaborn’s rallying cry to whoever works at the hospital, is to keep doing what they are doing.

“We have an outstanding group of people providing services here,” Seaborn says. “If we keep our focus on the patient and keep providing these outstanding services, we will be here for a long time to come.”