2. CHRISTUS Hospital – St. Elizabeth celebrates 50
years of operation on Calder Street.
Join with us as we acknowledge the growth
of our health ministry, the medical advancements
which are integral to our care, and the important
events that have led to our healthcare leadership in
the region.

3. Beaumont was a city
of 8,000 residents.
Lumber, cattle
ranching, and rice
farming led the
economy.

4. The riverboats and
railroads provided
transportation that
encouraged
expansion.

5. The ambitious
young community
assessed its needs and
decided that
a hospital was a
priority.

6. A request was made
to the Sisters of
Charity of the
Incarnate Word in
Galveston to found
a hospital in
Beaumont.

7. Two Sisters arrived
to select a site.
They arranged for the
purchase of a half
block of ground on
the banks of the
Neches River for
$700.

8. Starting a tradition
that would continue
for more than a
century, the Sisters
turned to the people
of Beaumont to help
them build the
hospital.

9. The name for the hospital had
already been chosen:
Hotel Dieu – the House of God.

10. Families that were early benefactors
to the Sisters included:
Fletcher, McFaddin, Broussard, and Hebert.

11. Hotel Dieu Hospital
opened without
ceremony.
The three-story frame
building was designed
to care for 24 patients,
as well as provide
housing for the
Sisters.

12. A caretaker’ s garden
provided much of the
food for both Sisters
and patients.

13. When a smallpox epidemic broke out, the
Sisters worked selflessly night and day,
forgetting the danger of contagion –
thinking only of the welfare and comfort
of their patients.

14. Patillo Higgins and
Anthony Lucas struck
oil at Spindletop.
The population
jumped to 50,000 –
finally stabilizing at
about 20,000.

15. Like most of the
town, the little
hospital was very
overcrowded.

16. So the Sisters added
a frame building to
increase the bed
capacity to 80.

17. A building known as the Ryan Cottage
was purchased as a residence for nurses
and soon became the
Hotel Dieu School of Nursing.

18. Sister M. Placidus
Mulcahy, later
Mother General of the
Congregation, was the
first Director of
Nurses.

19. The Sisters and nurses performed most duties at
Hotel Dieu, working 12-hour shifts to care for
patients, clean the wards, wash bedding, and
sterilize instruments.

20. The Sisters purchased property on Sabine Pass
Avenue to build a larger and more substantial
hospital to meet the needs of
the growing town.

21. A four-story brick
building, equipped
with all modern
facilities, was
dedicated and ready
for occupancy,
bringing the bed
capacity to 150.

22. The physicians, the
Sisters, and their
co-workers pursued
their mission to the
sick and poor at Hotel
Dieu throughout the
Depression.

23. The Sisters of Charity
purchased a hospital
already in operation –
Beaumont General
Hospital. The name
for the new
acquisition was
St. Therese Hospital.

24. St. Therese and Hotel
Dieu hospitals were
operated by the
Sisters as separate
institutions, along
with St. Mary
Hospital – a 150-bed
hospital and School of
Nursing in Port
Arthur.

25. Mr. and Mrs. J.H.
Phelan, Sr., donated
$50,000 for a new
chapel at Hotel Dieu
in memory of Mrs.
Phelan’ s parents, Mr.
and Mrs. John
Cunningham.

26. A new convent was
built, as the old one
was dilapidated.
Furnishings for the
Sisters’ new home
were donated by
Mr. and Mrs. J.E.
Broussard.

27. On the campus of
Hotel Dieu, the
Sisters built
Rosary Hall – a new
school and residence
for nurses – and
St. Martin de Porres
Hospital, which
provided 75 beds.

28. Babe Didrikson
Zaharias, a Beaumont
native, underwent
surgery at Hotel Dieu.
The nurses wrote:
“ The g re ate st g o lfe r
o f all time s… le t the
nursing stude nts in
o n all he r se cre ts.”

29. The need for a larger, more modern hospital was
evident. With help from the community, plans
for raising funds began.
A.J. Coburn, president of Coburn Supply Co.,
led the citywide fund drive.

30. Mr. & Mrs. J.H.
Phelan, Sr., donated
their family estate on
Calder Avenue
to the congregation
The Phelan home
was to serve as a
convent, and the
15 acres of property
used for a new
hospital.

31. The stately and
elegant Phelan home
was estimated to be
worth $1.5 million
in 1956.
It was the most
generous
philanthropic gift
in the history of
Beaumont.

32. In May, the new
six-story, 231-bed
St. Elizabeth Hospital
opened.
Construction cost
of the new hospital
was $6 million.

33. Twenty-six Sisters
worked within the
hospital, with
Sr. Mary Gerard
Houston as the first
administrator.

34. Employing 325, the
hospital featured large
and well-equipped
patient rooms (each
with a telephone and
TV), comfortable
waiting rooms,
elevators, and, of
course,
air-conditioning.

35. The area’ s first coronary care unit and
first intensive care unit were opened at
St. Elizabeth.

36. St. Elizabeth Hospital expanded to 280 beds.

37. St. Elizabeth Hospital expanded to 280 beds.
About a year later, work began to add
66 more beds and expand support facilities.

38. The J.C. Crager
Cardiac Pavilion
opened under the
direction of Drs.
Thomas Lombardo
and Joseph Reeves.

39. The first heart catheterization lab was opened.
Dr. Thomas Lombardo performed the first heart
catheterization procedure.

40. A 27-bed
Neurological Pavilion
was opened. Drs.
Starr, Rafes, and
Faulk were leaders in
the field of
Neurosurgery, along
with a young Dr.
Mark Kubala.

41. A $1 million parking garage was built
to accommodate 580 cars for the
expanding facility.

42. A new Emergency Center at 14th and
North Street opened.
Major renovations to the surgery and pathology
departments took place.

43. The radiology department installed a new
diagnostic system called the computerized axial
tomography (CAT) body scanner.

44. The Mamie McFaddin
Ward Cancer Center
opened at
St. Elizabeth with a
generous donation to
honor Mrs. Ward.

45. A $27 million expansion project throughout
the hospital was also completed.
The project included a four-story wing
on the west side of the hospital.

46. This expansion increased the total number
of beds to 469 –
419 of them private.

47. With a generous
donation from H.E.
and Kate Dishman,
the Kate Dishman
Rehabilitation Center
was opened on the
hospital’ s sixth floor.

48. The Center for
New Life opened with
19 beds.
It was the area’ s
first single-room
maternity care unit.

49. The Heart Institute at St. Elizabeth Hospital
began the area’ s first cardiac rehabilitation
program.

50. The 120,000 sq-ft
Wilton P. Hebert
Health & Wellness
Center and medical
office building was
built on the campus of
St. Elizabeth.

51. Construction was
made possible with
a donation of
$1 million from
the Wilton P. and
Effie Mae Hebert
Foundation.

52. The Sisters of Charity
of the Incarnate Word
in Houston and San
Antonio formed
CHRISTUS Health.

53. CHRISTUS Hospital-
St. Elizabeth & St. Mary
and CHRISTUS Jasper
Memorial Hospital are an
integral part of the faith-
based, not-for-profit health
system.

54. The hospital completed construction of a
$9 million, five-story parking garage on Calder
between 14th and 15th streets to accommodate
936 vehicles.

55. The 260,000 sq-ft
CHRISTUS
Outpatient Pavilion
(OPP) located on
11th Street between
Harrison and North
opened in June.

56. Dedicated departments with the OPP
include imaging, outpatient surgery, lab, diabetes
education, as well as the Tracy Byrd Hyperbaric
Medicine and Wound Care Center.

57. The Spine and Orthopedic Specialty Center
opened to provide care for patients undergoing
state-of-the-art joint replacement and spine
surgery.

58. The Spine and Orthopedic Specialty Center
opened to provide care for patients undergoing
state-of-the-art joint replacement and spine
surgery.
The Southeast Texas Bariatric Center opened to
provide innovative programs
and services to safely and effectively
treat obesity.

59. A new Emergency
Department opened
in March 2011.
The new west-side
ambulatory entrance
features state-of-the-art
rapid assessment and
treatment areas, as well
as modern and spacious
design and décor.

60. Major renovations to the
Center for New Life
were completed.

61. CHRISTUS Hospital-
St. Elizabeth
is a 438-bed healthcare
facility, employs more
than 1,650, and is the
largest Magnet Hospital
between Houston and
Baton Rouge.

62. St. Elizabeth is the regional leader in
spine and orthopedics, cardiology, oncology,
general surgery, imaging, bariatrics, birthing,
and neonatal care.

63. Our nursing professionals and nationally
recognized physicians work at the forefront
of research, clinical trials, treatment, and
care.

66. The success of our evolving history
has been made possible through
unique gifts, values, spirit, and
commitment to something larger
than each of us –

67. The success of our evolving history
has been made possible through
unique gifts, values, spirit, and
commitment to something larger
than each of us –
the joyful spirit of God’ s healing love.

68. As we celebrate 50 years of caring,
we endeavor to continue the mission of the
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word –
to extend the healing ministry
of Jesus Christ.

69. Our goal is
to forever bring
their mission to life.