Illinois Central Hospital

(Substreet; Satellite, demolished in 2011)

Three photos of the interior starting here; construction photos: 1, 2 followed by 2 more, 3 followed by 2 more

David Daruszka commented on a post
The Illinois Central's hospital in Chicago was located on Stony Island Ave. in Hyde Park.
[Built in 1916]
David Daruszka Demolished in 2011 and it was last known as the "Doctor's Hospital". The hospital in Paducah, KY (near the IC's shops) is still standing and partially leased. Its included in this postcard site of railroad hospitals. http://railwaysurgery.org/Hospitals.htm

Jim Heater posted
Illinois Central Hospital - Any Info?
Joe Stupar: It was called Doctor's hospital when it shut down around 2000 or so.
David Daruszka: The Illinois Central Hospital was originally built to serve railroad employees and their families. It is one of only several hospitals that were built in the country to serve this purpose. Its architects, Schmidt, Garden & Martin, were noted for their expertise in hospital design. A book co-authored by Richard E. Schmidt (1865-1959) called The Modern Hospital was published the same year of ICH’s construction in 1914. The IC also had a large hospital near their shops in Paducah, KY. That building still stands and has been converted to rental office space.
It should be noted that working for the railroad was, and is, a dangerous occupation. Safety laws were virtually non-existent at the time of the hospital's construction, and traumatic injuries to railroaders were all too frequent.
Eric Allix Rogers: The fight over this building got pretty nasty - even for Hyde Park, which is no stranger to preservation fights. It was National Register-listed, and Michael Reese, designed by the same architects, had just been torn down. The university marshaled support for demolition, in part, by emphasizing that the hospital had, at some point in its past, refused black patients. If we tore down every building that had once harbored discriminatory practices, there wouldn't be any buildings left standing.
David Daruszka: After passing from IC ownership, the renamed Hyde Park Hospital became embroiled in a medicare fraud scandal in 1999. It seemed doomed to close when the government sued the institution and settled for 4.5 million dollars. The hospital would have closed then if it wasn’t for the power of its leader, Dr. Desnick, whose melding of personal and professional funds would soon make both he and his hospital more infamous. However badly the reputation of this hospital was infected, the doors somehow remained open.
Eric Allix Roger: This replaced it: https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/7284-earl-shapiro-hall-university-of-chicago-laboratory-schools [paycount 3]
Chuck Nelms: Had a postage stamp of an emergency room.
Paul Jevert shared
Illinois Central Hospital 5800 So. Stony Island Ave.
Thomas Finley: My mom worked there. Nursing. It’s how I got my job on the good ole I.CR.R as one of the track supervisors was in hospital for his two year physical when one night he rang the nurses station and complain he couldn’t pee so she catheterized him and he was so relieved he said to her if there is anything I can do for you let me know. She said I have a son who is looking for work so he told her to have me come to 115 th.st. & Front Ave Kensington in one week and he’ll hire me. I saw him on a Friday and was working the following Friday. That was January 10th. 1966. in the track dept. and in March I transferred into the D.C. wire gang and retired from it in 1942. A great job. The track supervisor was Herman Depperman.

John Uhlich shared a link with the comment:

Railroad surgeons formed a unique medical specialty, operating a vast and innovative network of railroad hospitals and clinics. Nearly forgotten today, this relatively small but dedicated group of doctors made many advances in medical science and embraced an innovative payment system now used by many health insurance plans. 

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Dennis DeBruler The doctors during the Civil War pioneered amputation. Hopefully, Railway Doctors pioneered better treatments.
Dennis DeBruler If you move the slider to 5:00, you can see a link-and-pin coupling. It is not hard to image how many rail workers lost part of their hand doing this. And they had to be between the cars while they were moving so they were subject to crushing accidents. The Janney (knuckle) coupler and air brakes probably did more to reduce worker injury than the doctors did.

Now, before a worker goes between cars ("employees fouling equipment") to hook up the brake's air-line hose, the engineer must do "three step protection." He has to apply the locomotives brakes, put the reverser in the neutral position, and open the generator field switch.
Robert Mate They did more than treat injured railworkers, I as well as all my brothers were born at the IC hospital. Also my Dads cataract surgery ( at that time it was done with a scalpel and required a 10 day stay.
Dave Ladislas Sr. Robert Mate,if I recall,it was kind of like the Veteran's hospitals,if you were employeed by the IC,that's where you n family went for all medical help.
Alfred Fickensher As of the last time I was in StLouis a few years ago, the Missouri Pacific employee hospital building was intact and was then a part of StLouis University Medical campus.

HydeParkProgress
"After 1973, when the Illinois Central Railroad sold the building, it operated as Hyde Park Community Hospital and Doctors Hospital."

Global Earth, 5/30/2008