HAMMOND | In a seven-room farmhouse in 1898, the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration took in their first patient, a settler named John Stephens who had a broken leg.

Although the building wasn't quite ready, Dr. James Thomas Clark treated Stephens as carpenters hammered nearby.

The hospital, now known as St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers, is celebrating the 110th anniversary of its opening.

The Hammond farmhouse cost the Sisters of St. Francis $9,000 back then, and it was the first hospital in the county, spokeswoman Maria Ramos said.

In its first year, the hospital treated 118 patients. Now, it handles 140,000 visits a year at its Hammond and Dyer campuses combined, Ramos said.

Hospital President Thomas Gryzbek credits the Sisters of St. Francis for the success and longevity of the hospital.

"It's reflective of the Sisters' very noble and worthy mission to take care of God's needy," he said.

Every patient is Jesus in disguise, and it is the hospital staff's duty to take care of them as they would care for their own family, Gryzbek said.

The sisters are unsung heroes who serve as role models. They're generous, humble and nurturing. They're excellent business women with a goodness that's palpable, Gryzbek said.

It began on a cold February day when a provincial superior sister and two other sisters took a train from Lafayette to Hammond at the request of community leaders, Ramos said.

Before the hospital opened, people had to get treatment in Michigan City or Chicago, traveling sometimes through swamps and around hills, according to historic information provided by the hospital.

The hospital grew. In 1901, a new four-story brick building accommodating 70 patients was opened, and a second building was added six years later, bringing the number of beds to 150, the historic information states.

The hospital continued to add wings and offer more services. It merged with Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Dyer in 1991 to become a two-campus facility.

Besides the two hospital campuses, it offers care at nearly 20 satellite locations, Gryzbek said.