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McCready Foundation Building a Healthy Community One Person at a Time
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It began with an act of gratitude …

The story of McCready Memorial Hospital and its evolution as a community healthcare facility dates back to the early 20th century -- the result of a selfless act of gratitude prompted by an unimaginable tragedy.

Suzanne McCready at age 6It was Sept. 13, 1919. The "war to end all wars" had ended 10 months earlier. Edward W. McCready, who at the time lived in the Chicago area, was in his native Crisfield with his 8-year-old daughter, Suzanne, visiting relatives.

Their visit over and the start of school beckoning, Suzanne, her father and her nurse, Henrietta Steinbach, were heading out of town when their Pathfinder sedan was involved in a collision with a train near Westover. 

Both adults died at the scene. Rescuers attempted to rush Suzanne back to Crisfield’s General and Marine Hospital for treatment, but the youngster succumbed to her injuries en route.

Caroline Pitkin McCreadyAs was the custom of the day, General and Marine's head nurse, Florence Webb Smith, arranged for the bodies to lie in repose at the hospital to await the arrival of Caroline Pitkin McCready.

When the grief-stricken widow and mother reached Crisfield, she viewed her deceased loved ones and turned to Smith. “How much?,” Mrs. McCready asked.

“Why ... Mrs. McCready," a stunned Smith reportedly replied. "You have no bill from us. We are very sorry we could not have done more for you.”

Mrs. McCready insisted. “You and the people of Crisfield will be paid,” she said.(*)

Edward W. McCready Memorial Hospital -- his widow's $200,000 gift to Crisfield -- was dedicated May 6, 1923. Built on Cork Point and flanked by the tidal Daugherty's Creek and "Hospital Cove," the hospital serves as the healthcare hub for the hard-working people of Crisfield and their Somerset County neighbors in nearby towns and communities.

Mrs. McCready's generosity set a high standard for a community that continues supporting the hospital and its good works.

The original McCready Memorial Hospital, dedicated in 1923, is used now as an administration building and by physicians who see patients in the surrounding community. Its replacement is in the background to the right.

The McCready Foundation

In the ensuing years, McCready Memorial Hospital underwent changes and improvements as other hospitals around the country did. A small addition was added to the original building in 1961.

Alice Byrd TawesAlice B. Tawes Nursing Home at McCready HospitalThe 69-bed Alice B. Tawes Nursing Home, dedicated in memory of the mother of the late Maryland Gov. J. Millard Tawes, opened in 1968.  Adjacent to McCready Memorial, the single-story structure is one of the few nursing care facilities directly affiliated with a hospital in the mid-Atlantic region.

A four-story building – the new Tawes Nursing & Rehabilitation Center – will replace it this year. That facility, now nearing the end of construction, will have 76 skilled-nursing beds and also feature an additional 30 assisted-living apartments on the top floor -- an expansion of healthcare services that will be available at McCready. The old nursing home will be demolished.

The original hospital eventually outlived its usefulness and by 1980 was replaced by a more modern building. It is connected to the original building -- now used for administrative offices -- as well as the nursing home. This centrally located building has been expanded several times since it opened. 

Among McCready Memorial Hospital's features: an emergency room, a surgical center, a medical-surgical inpatient unit, an imaging department and a laboratory. It also has an education center, state-of-the-art rehabilitation facilities and a chapel. A section of the hospital's upper floor currently serves as the temporary home for some nursing-home residents until the new nursing and rehabilitation center is completed.

The hospital, the Tawes' nursing home, the outpatient center and adjoining physicians' offices (located in a wing of the original hospital), are known collectively as the McCready Foundation.

* - Inspiration and excerpts for portions of this historical account were drawn from “75 Years of Caring for People: A History of McCready Hospital” by Jean Earley Merson. Her book is available through the hospital's Human Resources department.