A tale of two sisters and their hospital

Pictured are Sister Mary Teresa Dolan, left, and Sister Mary Delores Drew, who began the first Mercy Hospital in 1886.

Courtesy photo/Mercy Hospital

When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closes its doors Dec. 31, it will mark the end of a health care institution and ministry that began more than 130 years ago.

The Tribune is looking back on Mercy’s history in the community, from the time two Sisters arrived in Fort Scott and started a hospital, to the Oct. 1 announcement of the hospital’s plan to close its inpatient services, the emergency department and ambulatory surgery.

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Members of the Sisters of Mercy are pictured in a 1963 photo.

Courtesy photo/Mercy Hospital