Middle Tennessee Medical Center

Description

About Middle Tennessee Medical Center
A Legacy of Compassionate Care
Since 1927 Middle Tennessee Medical Center has been committed to physical emotional and spiritual healing MTMC is the leading healthcare provider in Rutherford County and we continue to grow our services in order to meet the healthcare needs of our community MTMC is in the process of building a new 268 million facility that will be equipped with stateoftheart technology The hospital will provide 286 allprivate patient rooms and is designed to facilitate a healing and spiritual environment Our mission is to serve all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable while improving the health of individuals and communities MTMC provides both physical and financial support for many community programs In fiscal year 2007 MTMC gave almost 12 million in charity care Saint Thomas Health Services regional health system consists of five hospitals Baptist and Saint Thomas Hospitals and the Center for Spinal Sugery in Nashville Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro and Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville and a comprehensive network of affiliated joint ventures in diagnostics cardiac services and ambulatory surgery as well as medical practices clinics and rehabilitation facilities STHS is a member of Ascension Health a Catholic organization that is the largest notforprofit health system in the United States

Mission Statement
Rooted in the loving ministry of Jesus as healer we commit ourselves to serving all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable Our Catholic health ministry is dedicated to spiritually centered holistic care which sustains and improves the health of individuals and communities We are advocates for a compassionate and just society through our actions and our words

Vision Statement
Saint Thomas Health Services will be the premier spiritually based healthcare ministry as seen through the eyes of the patient

Our Values
Service of the Poor Reverence Integrity Wisdom Creativity Dedication

History

History of Saint Thomas Health Services
The history of Saint Thomas Health Services begins with the Daughters of Charity a Catholic community of religious women founded in Parish France in 1633 by Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac Together they organized and trained young peasant women to take food and other necessities to the homes of the less fortunate From the beginning the Daughters were unlike other communities of religious women Not cloistered as were other orders of the day they wore peasant dress and carried their ministry into the streets

Soon the Daughters mission expanded to educating children and caring for the sick in hospitals and on the battlefields They were the first to nurse the poor in their homes to care for the mentally ill and to visit patients after discharge from the hospital As pioneers of modern social services the Daughters started orphanages homes for the aged and for unwed mothers sup kitchens and hostels for beggars they also worked for prison reform and war relief

The selfless work on behalf of the poor was extended across the ocean to the United States by Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton a widow from New York She established the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg Maryland in 1809 and dreamed of uniting with the Daughters of Charity The dream was realized in 1850 25 years after her death The tiny community founded in 1633 now numbers over 26000 members worldwide with ministries in health education social service and pastoral care all on behalf of the poor and vulnerable

The Daughters of Charity began their formal health care ministry when they were asked to take charge of Saint Johns Hospital in Angers France in 1639 The healthcare ministry in the US began in 1823 when the Daughters staffed the Baltimore Infirmary now the University of Maryland Hospital The Daughters were invited to bring their healthcare skill to Nashville in 1898 by the Catholic bishop of Nashville Thomas Byrne who was certain that quotso much good can be done here in a Hospitalquot

The Dickinson property on Hayes Street became the first Saint Thomas Sanitarium In 1902 a new Saint Thomas Hospital was constructed on the property Having outgrown several additions and renovations Saint Thomas Hospital relocated to its current Harding Road location in 1974

In 1918 a group of influential Protestant clergy and laymen organized an effort to create Protestant Hospital partly in response to an influenza epidemic The founders objective was for the hospital to be nondenominational and provide service to paying and nonpaying patients alike The first patient was a maternity patient

In 1948 the hospital was acquired by the Tennessee Baptist Convention and renamed MidState Baptist Hospital A series of questions and answers published at the time captures well the spirit of the Hospital quotAre only Baptists to be servedquot quotNo Its going to be a ministry to humanityquot quotWhat about racesquot quotIt doesnt matter what background or ethnic group If they are in need we minister to them and we do it at this placequot quotHow should the hospital be runquot quotIt ought to be done in a religious way highly ethical But it ought to be up to date use modern methods People deserve the best all races all people regardless of their cultural backgrounds religious differences there are similarities in our desire to maintain health and live a long timequot In 1964 it was renamed Baptist Hospital and in 1991 it became independent of the Tennessee Baptist Convention

In nearby Rutherford County there was a high death rate from tuberculosis typhoid fever and high incidences of pellagra hookworm and venereal disease Without any hospital facility most surgeries were done on the kitchen table in patients homes with more intensive cases going to Nashville In the mid 1920s the county had only 4 RNs 3 practical nurses and 16 midwives

A key visionary and leader was Miss Maude Ferguson Public Health Nurse of the Rutherford County chapter of the Red Cross She demonstrated much success in a childrens health program which was funded by the Commonwealth Fund of New York Miss Ferguson together with Dr Harry S Mustard County Health Officer and two local businessmen Simeon B Christy and Sam Houston applied to the Commonwealth Fund of New York for a 161620 grant to build the Rutherford Hospital which opened on May 2 1927 In 1986 Saint Thomas and Baptist Hospital at that time otherwise unaffiliated came together to acquire Rutherford Hospital and changed the name to Middle Tennessee Medical Center A new replacement facility is now under construction with occupancy anticipated in August 2010

In 1997 Saint Thomas and Baptist Hospitals came together as Saint Thomas Health Services to develop a comprehensive and integrated system for the delivery and financing of healthcare throughout middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky A faithbased ministry with more than 8000 associates serving the area Saint Thomas Health Services regional health system today consists of five hospitals Baptist and Saint Thomas Hospitals and the Center for Spinal Surgery in Nashville Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro and Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville and a comprehensive network of affiliated joint ventures in diagnostics cardiac services and ambulatory surgery as well as medical practices clinics and rehabilitation facilities STHS is the market leader in stroke spinal surgery orthopedics womens health oncology and cardiology

Saint Thomas Health Services is a member of Ascension Health a Catholic healthcare organization that is the largest notforprofit health system in the United States continuing into the 21st century the centuries old commitment of our founders to tend to the suffering found among the poor and sick