Charles Hackley's Gift Still Flourishing
They are administrators, doctors and daughters, wives and mothers, volunteers and nurses. Their lives and their duties are as varied as their personalities, yet linked by a single thread of service and commitment.
They are women, and they have all played major roles in the history of Hackley Hospital.
The hospital's first chief administrator was a woman, as was its first patient. Two of Hackley's first staff physicians were women. A woman was the first to head the hospital's laboratories. And the Hackley Hospital Auxiliary, a longstanding group of volunteers, also was initiated by a woman.
Service for and by women has always been a special focus of Hackley Hospital since its inception. An obstetrics department headed by a woman was equipped to serve Muskegon area mothers from the hospital's first day, and women have always been a part of the staff at all levels.
A history compiled by Hackley Hospital lovingly refers to these pioneers as the "founding mothers" of the hospital.
Administration
For more than 40 years after Hackley Hospital opened, women occupied its chief administrative offices. Clara Dyring was hired before the hospital opened, and served from 1904 to 1907. She was followed by Elizabeth Greener, whose tenure lasted from 1907 to 1914.
Greener came to Muskegon from a New York City hospital, where she had taught nursing. Among her students was Amy Beers, who later became the chief administrator of Hackley.
While in Michigan, Greener was elected president of the Michigan State Nurses Association, and actively supported legislation to improve working conditions for nurses. She left Muskegon in 1914 and returned to New York City, where she became superintendent of nursing for Mt. Sinai Hospital, overseeing a staff of about 500.
She was elected president of the New York State Nurses Association and gained national recognition as a published authority on nursing.
Filling the chief administrative role from 1914 to 1924 was Grace McElderry, who came to Muskegon from St. Luke's Hospital in Davenport, Iowa. There, she had served as assistant superintendent, and the same post was offered to her in Muskegon. She had been on the job only a month before being promoted to acting superintendent. A few months later, she was officially promoted to head the administration of Hackley Hospital. Upon her resignation, Amy Beers moved into the position that her former teacher, Elizabeth Greener, had filled from 1907 to 1914.
For more than 20 years -- 1924 to 1945 -- Beers was the chief administrator of Hackley Hospital. The medical profession came naturally to her, as her father, Frank Beers, was a physician and two of her sisters also pursued nursing. (Adelaide Beers came to Muskegon as the first teacher of nursing at Hackley Manual Training School).
Beers, born in 1885, taught regular school for three years and then entered the New York City Training School for Nursing at City Hospital. After graduating in 1908, she worked in administrative positions. She was supervising nurse at New York City Hospital and then came to Muskegon briefly to serve as the assistant superintendent of Hackley Hospital (1910-1912) under Elizabeth Greener. She left for Iowa and became superintendent of the new hospital in Fairfield, until she was invited back to New York City Hospital to serve as assistant principal of the School of Nursing. After two years, she returned to Iowa; then she went to France during the last years of World War I. There, she was decorated by the French government for her services. Her specialty was in rehabilitating the victims of shell shock.
Then, she went back to Fairfield, Iowa, until the winter of 1923-1924. A nervous breakdown, brought on by her war years and the strain of her work, forced her to take a leave of absence, which she spent in California. While she was there, she received the offer to take over the administration of Hackley Hospital. This time, she stayed in Muskegon until her retirement in 1945. She returned to Iowa but maintained a summer cottage in the Muskegon area. At the time of her death in 1974 at age 88, she was living in Florida.
Hospital administration constituted the majority of Beers' life. But it did not stop her from teaching. The annual report of Hackley Hospital for 1911 lists her as the instructor for the following courses in the School of Nursing: theoretical nursing; practical nursing; surgical technique; preparatory materia medica; solutions; practical surgery; bandaging; and practical obstetrical nursing. It was no surprise that Beers was selected to serve as the assistant principal of the New York City School of Nursing in 1916. Despite her obvious skills as a teacher, Beers showed an aptitude for administrative duties from the beginning. In Iowa, she not only ran her hospital but served for two years as president of the Iowa State Nursing Association and three years as a member of the State Board of Nurse Examiners.
Once she settled in Muskegon, similar posts came her way. She served as treasurer of the Michigan Hospital Association from 1926 to 1940, when she was elected president. She also was president of the Michigan State Nurses Association, and was a fellow of the American College of Hospital Administrators. In 1942, she became vice president of the organization. She also served on the board of the Muskegon Chapter of the Red Cross, and on the board of the American Legion, with special responsibilities for crippled children. She is credited with playing a major role in the founding the Women's Auxiliary of Hackley Hospital.
Outside the medical profession, she served locally with the Women's Club, the Congregational Church and the Citizens' Historical Association.
"The vast majority of people who work here don't do it for the money, they do it because they want to," Miller said. "It's an honor to be a part of that. It makes my job easy."
Miller said that Hackley has stayed on forefront of medicine by being innovative, yet stable. Hackley has many employees who have worked at the hospital for 30 to 35 years.
And, many employees leave and return, according to Miller.
"It's a great place to work," said Shirley Shlaffer, director of surgical services at Hackley Hospital. She has worked at Hackley since 1970. "We have a great staff.
"People are what make your institution great. You are what your people are."
The current climate at Hackley typifies the words of University of Michigan President James B. Angell, during a speech made at the hospital dedication ceremony in 1904.
"...A sick man helped by thee shall make thee strong; Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense Of service which thou renderest.'"
"We impact people's lives every day," Miller said. "Many people who walk through our doors are afraid. Our jobs are really about comfort, caring, and understanding that we're here for them in a bad situation.
"Most people don't want to be here."
Miller and other administrators frequent the surgical and oncology floor, visiting the patients.
"Really, what it's all about are the patients," she said.
Hackley received several prestigious awards in the 1990s, including the Michigan Quality Leadership Award in 1996.
"About 900 people went to the Amway Grand to meet with the governor -- it was quite an event," Miller said.
Throughout the years, Hackley has upheld the high standards of its founder, whether it is investing in the best technology -- or the best personnel.
This year's capital equipment budget at Hackley is about $10 million, according to Mudler.
"There is an ongoing commitment from the hospital board to expand," he said.
Reprinted with permission from the Muskegon Chronicle
