Rock Island Hospitals and Homes
For a city the size of Rock Island, it is adequately supplied with institutions for caring for the sick, injured and indigent. Bethany Home, for neglected children, orphans and deserving poor, located in the upper end of Rock Island, on ‘Fifth Avenue, was formerly known as the Union Mission, and was located at Eighth Street and Fourth Avenue. Later it was transferred to South Rock Island, where it was maintained until January 3, 1906. The new quarters are of brick, and are capable of accommodating fifty children. There are now forty inmates. The cost of the present home, inclusive of $1,000 transferred in real estate, was $10,600. It was incorporated July 12, 1899, and its donors and supporters ran into the hundreds. It is non-sectarian.
St. Anthony’s Hospital
This magnificent and much needed structure was originally established in 1894, under the care of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. In 1904 the present building, including the new section and alterations, was completed at a total cost of $60,000. The hospital is now self-supporting, twelve nurses are employed, twelve sisters are retained to perform the necessary work aside from nursing, and it has a capacity of one hundred patients. The building is an imposing four-story brick structure, and is surrounded by a beautiful and spacious lawn. Miss Mary N. Robertson, widely known for ability as a trained nurse, is superintendent.
Source: Historic Rock Island County, pub. Kramer & Company, Rock Island, Illinois, 1908