At the Franciscan St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, numbers count, especially the number of years in service to the community. On Nov. 28 the hospital at 1423 Chicago Road opened by the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration marked its 100th anniversary. “It’s a wonderful hospital that has served the people of Chicago Heights and the surrounding suburbs well for so long,” said Cardinal George during the Thanksgiving Mass celebrated at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Chicago Heights on Nov 1, 2011. St. James is all about implementing Catholic values as it provides the most advanced and compassionate medical care, charity help and remaining faithful to the Catholic mission. The idea to open a hospital for Chicago Heights, which expanded its population from 5,000 to 15,000 between 1901 to 1911, was first articulated by city officials in 1906. Plans failed because of lack of funds, so the city decided to invite the Franciscan Sisters to start a hospital. The sisters came to the United States from Germany in the 19th century. In the early 1900s the sisters, driven by the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, were already known for founding hospitals, schools, orphanages, homes for the aged and homes for social work. The dedication of its first building took place on the Thanksgiving Day in 1911. The hospital was named after the apostle, James the Greater, and Archbishop James Quigley, as reported on the hospital website. “Soon they recognized the need to build an addition to the hospital because the 50 beds they provided at that time were not adequate for the number of people who went through the hospital,” said Michael Shepherd the Marketing Director of the Franciscan St. James Health. After a century and a few major expansions, innovations and continuous growth, St. James now offers two full service campuses, one in Chicago Heights and the other at 20201 Crawford Ave., Olympia Fields. Each campus includes a main hospital, an emergency room and a selection of other related health facilities. “The number of licensed beds, which are beds we can operate by state law, is 476 and the number of people employed by the two hospitals is 2,500,” said Shepherd. Franciscan St. James Health is keeping in compliance with its original mission of the Franciscan Sisters: “Continuing Christ’s ministry in our Franciscan tradition” not only in the city of Chicago Heights but in the entire South suburban region. “Their commitment is to the entire region, not just to Chicago Heights. It is a very honorable thing to do,” said Shepherd. One of the signs that the hospital is true to its original mission is that St. James provides millions of dollars in free health care annually for the less fortunate and the poor. “In 2010 we reported to the state over $33 million in charity care which is almost 9 percent of our revenue,” said Shepherd. Among the values declared by St. James is “respect for life.” Asked if that includes also the unborn, Shepherd said: “We do nothing to prevent birth or to hasten or assist death. We don’t do abortions or anything that is related to euthanasia or assisted suicide.” Besides the physical care, St. James provides spiritual care. Each campus has a chapel open to all faiths and chaplains available 24 hours. “We have daily Mass celebrated in the hospital chapel, which can be viewed in each room on our closed circuit TV,” said Shepherd. Franciscan St. James Health is a division of the Franciscan Alliance. The hospital is governed by the Franciscan Alliance Board of Trustees and the South Suburban Chicago Region Board of Directors for the Franciscan Alliance.