The History of OSF St. Mary Medical Center
OSF St. Mary Medical Center owes its humble origins to a Galesburg priest who passionately petitioned The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis to bring their unique brand of delivering compassionate and reliable medical service to this growing community.
Today, OSF St. Mary continues to evolve and expand with the latest in health care technology and advanced medical treatments while still adhering to the basic principles the Sisters followed when they opened the doors in 1909, "to serve with the greatest care and love."
The Beginning
July 3, 1909: The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis took possession of the former Judge George W. Thompson residence to serve as a hospital.
1909: Sister M. Frances Dieman, O.S.F., served as the first administrator of St. Mary’s Hospital.
1910s
1912: An elevator was installed in the hospital, solving the problem of Sisters having to carry patients up and down the stairs.
1913: Work began on a new five-story addition.
1914: A dedication was held for the new, five-story, $80,000 addition to St. Mary’s Hospital, now with 83 beds.
1930s
1930: A new wing was completed, making the bed capacity 105.
1934: St. Mary’s Hospital celebrated its Silver Jubilee with an open house and dinner honoring area physicians.
1950s
1953: The St. Mary’s Hospital Advisory Board was formed.
1953: The Friends of St. Mary’s contributed food to the Sisters during the annual food shower.
1958: The original St. Mary’s Hospital building was demolished to make room for a new addition.
1959: The St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary was organized.
1959: Construction began on a new four-story, 64,508-square-foot addition. Plans for the addition included a phone in every patient’s room.
1960s
1961: The new $2 million, four-story addition was dedicated and blessed by Bishop Franz.
1969: St. Mary’s Hospital joined the new Shared Hospital Information System that connected the hospitals owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.
1970s
1970: St. Mary’s Hospital purchased 55 acres outside the Galesburg city limits on Route 34 and Seminary Street for the new hospital.
1971: New intensive care and coronary units were established; the wards were paid for by the auxiliary.
1972: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new $6.9 million St. Mary’s Hospital.
1973: St. Mary’s Hospital was dedicated as an areawide trauma center, one of 40 in a statewide network.
1974: Bishop O’Rourke blessed and dedicated the newly completed St. Mary’s Hospital.
1975: Illinois Gov. Dan Walker dedicated the new helipad at St. Mary’s Hospital.
1975: A new cardiac stress-testing lab was opened.
1976: Gayle Sayers, former Chicago Bears football player, agreed to an examination and heart stress test at St. Mary’s Hospital to help promote National Heart Month.
1977: The St. Mary’s Cross, constructed from two 30-foot telephone poles, was erected as part of the centennial celebration for The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.
1978: Since 1938, 20,000 babies were born at St. Mary’s Hospital. A hospital birthday party was held to celebrate the milestone.
1980s
1980: A tumor registry system was established to track patients for life with yearly reminders to seek check-ups.
1980: 1,000 balloons were released to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the new building.
1983: A state-of-the-art CT scanner was purchased for $840,000.
1984-1985: St. Mary’s Hospital celebrated 75 years of service to the Galesburg community with many special events throughout the year. Events included: The Air Force Band, Oak Ridge Boys, George Burns, Betty Ford and a balloon race.
1985: Home health care services were established at St. Mary’s Hospital.
1986: St. Mary’s offered Care Van services to assist seniors needing transportation to and from the hospital.
1989: St. Mary’s Hospital became St. Mary Medical Center.
1990s
1991: A new cancer care unit, made possible through a donation from the auxiliary, was dedicated.
1992: A blessing and dedication took place for the 12,000-square-foot remodeling and expansion of the surgery and pediatrics areas.
1994: The new Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center was dedicated and blessed.
1995: The St. Mary Medical Center Foundation holds the inaugural Patron’s Ball.
2000s
2000: An open house and dedication took place for the newly completed Health and Rehabilitation Center.
2005: A blessing and open house were held for phase II of the $6.2 million Emergency Department expansion and redesign.
2007: A blessing and dedication were held for the new imaging department renovation project.
2010s
2015: The new $3.4 million Intensive Critical Care Unit was blessed.
2016: A groundbreaking was held for a $22 million expansion and renovation project.
2017: OSF Life Flight began a daily helicopter relocation program to OSF St. Mary Medical Center, the service provides patients faster access to emergency care.
2018: A new main entrance and remodeled lobby was opened.
2020s
2022: A Galesburg OSF OnCall Urgent Care clinic was blessed and dedicated.
2022: A new Family Birthing Center, outpatient services and laboratory were blessed and dedicated.
2024: OSF St. Mary Medical Center began providing radiation oncology services.
2025: OSF St. Mary Medical Center acquired the non-invasive daVinci 5 Surgical System.