01w Catlzolic Heritage in Texas
position to judge, unequivocally gave their whole-hearted support to Providence Hospital, which has continued to serve Waco so faithfully and so well in days of anguish as well as in days of prosperity. The record of its growth and development speaks for itself. Founded with a five Sister staff, it had twelve in 1936; the original bed capacity of sixty was almost doubled in the first thirty years, besides the additional accommodations built in 1916 for 60 nurses; the average number of patients treated annually had risen from 56 to 2790, of which over 10% were free patients. 58 In 1946 more than seven thousand patients received hospital attention. Since the Texas centennial, its growth and services have kept pace with the accelerated tempo of the Second World War and the unprecedented development of Central Texas. 59 Sisters of J11 ercy H os,pitals in T ezas. The third group of Sisters to come to Texas to found hospitals in point of time were the Sisters of Mercy. 60 Their attempt to conduct a school in Refugio was only partly successful at first. When an opportunity arose in Laredo to open a hospital in 1894, they moved to that city and began their labors on October 15, in a modest, rented house on the outskirts of the city. Mother Clare, aided by a Sister companion and a secular nurse, immediately began to care for the sick and the poor. The distant location of the original hospital in a remodeled building with only eight beds, retarded its growth and devel- opment. For a moment, discouragement almost drove them back to Re- fugio, but a good friend gave them an opportunity to acquire a new building in the heart of the city. Great was the need for their services in the border city; Bishop Verdaguer fully appreciated the significance of their noble work. Within another year the new building had to be enlarged and the Sisters of Mercy made plans for the permanent establishment of their Motherhouse for South Texas in Laredo. Since its establishment, the Sisters of Mercy have brought to the people of Laredo the modem facilities of the most up-to-date hospital equipment and scientific nursing. Their spirit of devotion to the sick and the poor has become traditional. In addition to caring for the sick, they make many visits to poor homes where they nurse the sick who cannot, or will not, come to the hospital and they make regular visits to the prisoners in the city and county jail. 58 Shelly, op. cit., 119-120; Tlie Official Catholic Directory, 1947, p. 466. 59 "Daughters of St. Vincent de Paul in Texas," MS. in possession of the Author. 60 They are both a teaching and hospital order. For their first efforts in education in Texas, see Chapter VIII of this volume.
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