Mercy Hospital

As transportation increased through Atascosa County with the creation of major highways, vehicular accidents and fatalities rose, and in 1952 thirteen fatalities and many serious injuries made it the bloodiest year in county history. The need for a hospital became critical because the two small hospitals in Poteet and Pleasanton could not handle major trauma and complex surgical procedures. After a major community and county effort to match a Federal grant, ground was broken for a new hospital, with weekly fundraisers held for two years to raise the money. A state-of-the-art facility opened for an open house on December 30, 1956, on land donated by the Whitfield family in memory of Mr. Ray Whitfield. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and Incarnate Word of Victoria agreed to manage the hospital and worked and lived there for very little pay until 1987. To help meet demand for nurses, the Mercy Hospital School of Vocational Nursing was established in 1968. In the 1980s, another management group took over hospital operations and changed the name to Tri-City Community Hospital. After South Texas Regional Medical Center opened at another location in March 2000, the original facility was abandoned. The building was demolished in 2012 to make way for the new Jourdanton Municipal Complex, and bricks from the old hospital were given to anyone who wanted them. The devotion and efforts of people from across Atascosa County made Mercy Hospital worthy of its name that more may live.

Jourdanton, Texas · United States