The Children's Hospital, of today, is an outgrowth of the "Akron Day Nursery," established by the "Heart and Hand" and "Wayside" circles of the order of King's Daughters, October 18, 1890. The charter members, as their names appear on the roll, were Mary Perkins Raymond, Anna Ganter, Carita McEbright, 'Bessie Raymond, Zelle Adams, Gertrude Commins, Addie Commins, Julia Crouse, Mary Crouse, Rose Day Christy, Belle Green, Helen Humphrey, Mand Watters, Mary Buell,Pirelli Lizzie Griffin, Martha Henry, Julia MacGregor, Mary Miller, Helen Storer, Harriet Wise and Alice Work.

First quarters were in the house occupied by the Union Charity Association on South High Street, present site of the Y. W. C. A. The young women cared for children sent in by mothers employed by the day.

In 1891 Colonel George T. Perkins gave a home to the organization on South High st., opposite the Court House, and the name was changed to the Mary Day Nursery in honor of Colonel Perkins' first granddaughter, Mary Perkins Raymond, now Mrs. William H. Yule, in whose name this gift was presented.

The name of the organization was again changed in 1905 to the "Mary Day Nursery and Ward for Crippled Children" and that marked the beginning of hospital work for children in Akron. The first medical staff consisted of Dr. J. P. Boyd, Dr. T. K. Moore and Dr. W. S. Chase. The surgeons were Dr. H. H. Jacobs, Dr. J. W. Rabe and Dr. Geo. T. Rankin.

The first officers were: President, Mrs. George R. Hill; Vice President, Miss Carita McEbright; Secretary, Miss May Latham; Treasurer, Mrs. Harvey Musser. Quarters had been moved to the present site, corner South High st. and Buchtel av., another gift from Colonel Perkins. The first report shows that 35 patients were cared for from October 28, 1905 to June 1, 1907.

The next step forward was another change in name with a corresponding enlargement of hospital facilities, on December 2, 1910, when the "Mary Day Nursery and Children's Hospital" was incorporated, the new hospital buildings on the old site, being once more the gift of Colonel Perkins, who also left to the hospital on his death that year, the sum of $50,000. In addition to the gifts made by Colonel Perkins, Mrs. Perkins, in 1915, built a nurses' home adjoining the hospital at a cost of $15,000.

The first Chief of Staff elected was Dr. W. S. Chase, who served until 1919 when he resigned. He was followed by Dr. W. A. Hoyt who served from 1919 to 1923, being succeeded by Dr. E. A. Weeks for the year 1924, and Dr. S. Morgenroth in 1925.

Miss Rose Steinmetz was superintendent of the hospital for eight years and from the time she resigned in 1918 there was no permanent superintendent until 1920 when A. O. Bauss, the present incumbent, was chosen.

While the capacity of the hospital is now 65 patients the daily patient average during the year 1924 was 64. The number of patients admitted in 1924 was 1,478 and the patient days amounted to 18,056. During the same year the dispensary clinics showed a total of 6,409 visits.

 

A Centennial History of Akron, 1825 – 1925, Herman Fetzer and others, The Summit County Historical Society, Akron, Ohio, 1925 (chapter on “Yesterdays with Akron Doctors” from which this brief on Children’s Hospital is taken, was written by Dr. W.S. Chase)