Our story begins....
"It was a struggle through the best of times and the worst of times to transform the Union Hospital into the Illinois Masonic Medical Center of 1897. Beginning modestly when a caring company of men and women, members of a Baptist Sunday School Class, resolved to build a hospital to meet the health needs of their community, the hospital emerged into a major Masonic enterprise dedicated to healing of the ills of humankind."
"When it became obvious that the hospital enterprise involved more than could be managed by members of a well-intentioned Sunday School Class, most of them were Masons or members of the Eastern Star, leaders of the hospital turned to the Masonic Order. It was a fortuitous development since Masons were planning to develop a hospital to provide care for their own, and in 1921 purchased the Union Hospital and named it Illinois Masonic Hospital."
Under the leadership of the Masons, the hospital developed expanded services, teaching programs, and a School of Nursing. Through affiliations with the University of Illinois and other Chicago medical schools, Illinois Masonic Medical Center had become the largest community-based teaching hospital in Chicago by 1970. Its clinics and ambulatory care centers expanded throughout the north side, and its commitment to the community helped drive dozens of innovative service and educational programs pursued with the support of the Masonic Board of Trustees. FORMATION OF MASONIC FAMILY HEALTH FOUNDATION In November 2000, Illinois Masonic Medical Center became a hospital member of Advocate Health Care, a multi-hospital non-profit healthcare system serving the greater Chicagoland area. With this transition, the majority of the Board Members of Illinois Masonic Medical Center became members of the Board of Directors of a new entity - the Masonic Family Health Foundation. HISTORY SNAPSHOT The forerunner to Illinois Masonic Hospital was a two-and-one-half story frame building which was rented for $50 a month.
The house contained 30 beds, 10 used by nurses, house physicians and staff, and 20 by patients, 5 of whom could afford to pay for their hospitalization. (image below)
"When it became obvious that the hospital enterprise involved more than could be managed by members of a well-intentioned Sunday School Class, most of them were Masons or members of the Eastern Star, leaders of the hospital turned to the Masonic Order. It was a fortuitous development since Masons were planning to develop a hospital to provide care for their own, and in 1921 purchased the Union Hospital and named it Illinois Masonic Hospital."
Under the leadership of the Masons, the hospital developed expanded services, teaching programs, and a School of Nursing. Through affiliations with the University of Illinois and other Chicago medical schools, Illinois Masonic Medical Center had become the largest community-based teaching hospital in Chicago by 1970. Its clinics and ambulatory care centers expanded throughout the north side, and its commitment to the community helped drive dozens of innovative service and educational programs pursued with the support of the Masonic Board of Trustees. FORMATION OF MASONIC FAMILY HEALTH FOUNDATION In November 2000, Illinois Masonic Medical Center became a hospital member of Advocate Health Care, a multi-hospital non-profit healthcare system serving the greater Chicagoland area. With this transition, the majority of the Board Members of Illinois Masonic Medical Center became members of the Board of Directors of a new entity - the Masonic Family Health Foundation. HISTORY SNAPSHOT The forerunner to Illinois Masonic Hospital was a two-and-one-half story frame building which was rented for $50 a month.
The house contained 30 beds, 10 used by nurses, house physicians and staff, and 20 by patients, 5 of whom could afford to pay for their hospitalization. (image below)
