Franciscan Sister Jocelyn Serwatka greets Kevin Breheny, chairman of the board of directors of St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur, after a Nov. 18 news conference during which details of St. Mary’s expansion plans were unveiled.

DECATUR - Details of a proposed $3.1 million expansion and renovation plan for St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur were unveiled at a press conference on Nov. 18, the eve of the 130th anniversary of St. Mary's Hospital. The 94,000 square foot expansion project includes a new emergency department, front lobby and registration area and a reconfigured parking area.

Kevin Kast, St. Mary's CEO, thanked staff members gathered for the anniversary celebration and news conference for all they did for the hospital, and for their input in assessing the future needs of the hospital. He said the expansion and renovation plan is projected to begin next summer.

Last year St. Mary's emergency department saw 32,000 patients. The new emergency department will be nearly double the present size, and accommodate more than 40,000 patient visits per year.

The new facility will draw on the hospital's rich history and Franciscan traditions for guidance, said Kevin Breheny, chairman of the board of directors at St. Mary's. The new areas will include green concepts - bamboo flooring, natural lighting, gardens and simulated waterfalls.

A video architectural rendering of the project showed a tree-lined boulevard leading up to the new front entrance, with plantings throughout the parking areas. The video offered viewers a multi-dimensional look at the design, both with and without the roof, to get a feel for the interior floor plan and size of its rooms.

Sister Jocelyn Serwatka, OSF, spoke briefly to the staff at the news conference. She described the interest and pleasure she and the other Franciscan sisters have in the project. She reassured everyone, that though their numbers are fewer today than in the past at the hospital, "we are not going away."

In October 1875, 21 Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis set sail from Muenster, Germany, at the request of Bishop Joseph Baltes, of the Diocese of Alton, who requested their help to care for the sick in Springfield, Effingham, Litchfield, Belleville and East St. Louis. Three years later, three sisters arrived in Decatur, opening St. Mary's Hospital in a small frame home on the corner of Wood and Webster streets. From the first hospital, which contained just six beds, the hospital grew, adding six additions between 1881 and 1926.

With no more room for expansion, the sisters in 1944 bought 14 acres of property on East Lake Shore Drive, near Lake Decatur. In 1953 the sisters purchased another seven acres, bringing the hospital campus up to 21 acres. The hospital moved there in 1964.

Work has already begun to improve conditions in the parking lots.