Though in Concord "only" for 96 years, New England Deaconess is celebrating its 120th year of existence. Do you know how this organization, first in Boston, end up in Concord in the first place, and how it has played a vital role in the well being of our community for nearly a century? From the current plus an earlier iteration of the New England Deaconess website:
"It was 1910 when Charles W. Emerson, a nephew of Ralph Waldo Emerson, brought his ailing wife from Concord to the Deaconess Hospital in Boston. The care and attention his wife received so impressed Emerson, that he donated both land and money to build a cottage hospital in Concord to be run by the Deaconesses. Emerson's vision and resources, combined with the free care and nursing expertise of the Deaconesses, provided the citizens of Concord and the surrounding areas with an alternative to Boston health care.
"Later, when it became evident that a residence for the aging Deaconess family was needed, Emerson came to their aid by generously donating the land upon which he had intended to build a home with his wife. This residence, completed in 1913, eventually came to be known as the Deaconess Home."
"At this same time, Emerson learned that Mrs. Foucar, who lived across the street from the hospital site, wanted to make a generous donation for a home for the aging. Emerson was excited about the prospect of working with Mrs. Foucar and her daughter, to create a great center for human welfare comprised of both a hospital and a home for the aging in Concord.
"In 1911, the Deaconess Cottage Hospital in Concord opened, and N.E.D.A. ran it until 1924 when it was turned over to the citizens of Concord and renamed Emerson Hospital. In November 1913, the Home for Aged Methodist Women, now Deaconess House, formally opened next door on what is now our Concord campus."
"It was 1910 when Charles W. Emerson, a nephew of Ralph Waldo Emerson, brought his ailing wife from Concord to the Deaconess Hospital in Boston. The care and attention his wife received so impressed Emerson, that he donated both land and money to build a cottage hospital in Concord to be run by the Deaconesses. Emerson's vision and resources, combined with the free care and nursing expertise of the Deaconesses, provided the citizens of Concord and the surrounding areas with an alternative to Boston health care."Later, when it became evident that a residence for the aging Deaconess family was needed, Emerson came to their aid by generously donating the land upon which he had intended to build a home with his wife. This residence, completed in 1913, eventually came to be known as the Deaconess Home."
"At this same time, Emerson learned that Mrs. Foucar, who lived across the street from the hospital site, wanted to make a generous donation for a home for the aging. Emerson was excited about the prospect of working with Mrs. Foucar and her daughter, to create a great center for human welfare comprised of both a hospital and a home for the aging in Concord.
"In 1911, the Deaconess Cottage Hospital in Concord opened, and N.E.D.A. ran it until 1924 when it was turned over to the citizens of Concord and renamed Emerson Hospital. In November 1913, the Home for Aged Methodist Women, now Deaconess House, formally opened next door on what is now our Concord campus."
