Page 4 - Calvert Health Magazine

celebrating 100 YEARS 1919-2019
A Century
of Care

Celebrate Our Past. Know Us Now.

YEAR 1919 “The story of our hospital is in many ways the story of the people

• $18,000 to build and equip who call Calvert home,” said CalvertHealth President and CEO
first hospital Dean Teague. “They believed in it. They fought for it. They

• Two doctors and one nurse supported it. And they’ve depended on it – for 100 years.”
• 179 patients in first year

• Rooms cost $2 per day A Rich Heritage of Dedication
In the beginning, Calvert Hospital was a vision in the minds of some determined men
who had moustaches and wore hats. Three brothers, Drs. Elliott, Amos and Clarence
Left: Public Health Nurse Myrtle Hutchins and their brother-in-law, Dr. Issac N. King, would leave a legacy of leadership
Patten had an immeasurable
impact on the lives of African that would shape the future of health care for generations to come.
American families in the county. According to historical accounts, they secured pledges and a loan for the tiny, two-story frame
Courtesy of Dr. Richlyn Faye hospital, which cost $18,000 to build and equip. The land was donated by John B. Gray. Supplies
Goddard
were scarce but their passion for caring was plentiful. Rooms were $2 a day and patients who could
Center: Bernie Fowler, Sr., not afford to pay were treated for free. The only registered nurse was on 24-hour duty. The cook took
assistant administrator, visits charge if she left the building. Elliott and Clarence, both over 230 pounds apiece and six feet four inches,
wife, Betty, at hospital in 1961 used to carry the patients up the back stairs.
after birth of their son, Bernie The need for the hospital was clear when the local newspapers reported two operations were
Jr., with Helen Marsellas, RN, performed in the wake of the dedication on May 26, 1919, with six more the next day. The unity and grit
administrator and Dr. George of those early founders and the men and women who came after would be tested by the lean years of
Weems. Courtesy of Helen the Great Depression and the war times that followed, when 20,000 were stationed on the naval base in
Marsellas Solomons in 1944. Dr. Page Jett told an interviewer in 1987, “We never took our clothes off. We would
just undo them and go to bed.”
Right: In 1919, the Calvert Two nurses, fresh out of training, who emerged as pivotal figures in health care during this time,
Hospital of Calvert County were the county’s first public health nurse, Myrtle Patten, and Helen Marsellas, who served as the
opened its doors. Some 179 hospital’s chief nurse for 11 years before being named administrator in 1956. Testimonials reveal their
patients were treated in the tireless dedication and unwavering service were unmatched.
first year. Courtesy of Dave Patten, who arrived in Calvert in 1927, could be described as nurse, midwife, dental assistant,
Mohler ©1997 emergency medical technician and counselor. She visited the homes of African American families, did

4 CALVERTHEALTH WINTER 2019 | SPECIAL EDITION: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS of CARING