Hospital marking its 50th

According to Ceil Mack, corporate communications director for St. Clare's, the Albany Diocese had considered building a Catholic hospital in Schenectady as far back as 1917, but war and financial challenges held up the project. By the 1930s, however, Schenectady had become a booming industrial city, and the need for a hospital was evident.

However, the impetus to go ahead with the project came from two local men. Frank Dickershaid, a sheet metal worker for General Electric Co., and Barney Fowler, then a columnist for the Schenectady Union Star, approached Bishop Edmund Gibbons about the status of plans for a hospital.

"The bishop said there needed to be some measure of interest on the part of the people," Ms. Mack recounted, so Mr. Fowler and Mr. Dickershaid immediately began a petition drive, collecting 60,000 signatures of Schenectadians who wanted a hospital.

It was originally projected that building St. Clare's would cost about $1.5 million, Ms. Mack said, so the people of Schenectady chipped in and raised that amount. But it wasn't enough. Soon, General Electric's newsletter, the GE News, printed a front-page headline urging the locals to "FINISH THE JOB."

BY 1945, another $1.5 million had been raised -- a staggering amount during those war years. The end of World War II saw the beginning of construction of St. Clare's; and on Sept. 1, 1949, the hospital opened its doors. It was co-sponsored by the Albany Diocese and the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.

Years of growth

The hospital's physical plant has grown by three buildings, including an on-site daycare center and a cardiac rehabilitation center, the first of its kind in the capital region.

"It started in 1980. It was very trendy," Ms. Mack remarked. "The idea of taking a person who'd had a heart attack and getting them up out of bed was earth-shattering when the idea [previously] was to rest the patients. We've got them on treadmills and stationary bikes!"

Improving care

The medical care itself that is St. Clare's reason for being has changed drastically. Women who used to stay in the hospital for two weeks after having a child can now go home in a day. Ms. Mack noted that when St. Clare's opened, there were no MRIs or the wide array of life-saving drugs that now exist.

"There are few surgical procedures that have not been affected by improved anesthesia delivery, pain medications, new techniques and tools in the operating rooms," she said.

Hometown place

"When I came here in 1979, there would have been people that had been [working] here since the doors opened," she recalled. "In a place like Schenectady, there's not a huge transient population. People have been here their whole lives. These are the people who built this hospital. The people really feel a vested interest in this place. Their children were born here, and they work here."

What makes St. Clare's different from other hospitals was evidenced by a board member's remark at a recent employee dinner. Ms. Mack said he told the honorees: "Nobody's a stranger at St. Clare's Hospital."

Pastoral care worker Sister Theresa Hansen, SSND, told The Evangelist: "We're small enough that all the employees know each other. People are very welcoming to you. 'Friendly' is a word that even the patients pick up. Employees of all different departments acknowledge the patients. There's that element of personal care -- and when people are kind and you're feeling lousy, it helps you."

More to come

But this weekend, St. Clare's will concentrate on celebrating what it has already accomplished. Two thousand people are expected to attend its anniversary celebration.

"What happened here," said Ms. Mack, "was an event of great significance."

(St. Clare's 50th anniversary celebration will be held Sept. 18, 1-5 p.m. The event will include pony rides, face painting, slides and crafts for children; and for adults, an antique car exhibit and free screenings for blood glucose, cholesterol, pulmonary function, colorectal cancer and peripheral vascular disease. Doc Spring's Rehabilitated Dixieland Band and Happy Daze will provide music. An open house, time capsule burial, awards and free refreshments will also be included. For information, call 347-5600.)

(09-16-99) [[In-content Ad]]