FRIDLEY, Minn. – (May 12, 2016) – Just 50 years ago Unity Hospital in Fridley opened to serve the public who lived outside of metro, so emergencies wouldn’t have to include a dangerously long drive to Minneapolis. This week they celebrated their golden birthday with the public. “For us to celebrate that this is part of the community, this is part of people’s lives to have a hospital, office spaces here for people to come, an emergency room for people to come right in there community and it’s not going away and hasn’t changed for 50 years,” said Unity Hospital patient care director Marcia Hauck. The institution hasn’t changed, but technology has vastly changed the way things are done. Hauck has worked in the hospital for 36 years and has seen the differences first hand. “Most currently in the last ten years, an electronic medical record versus a chart with papers and the charting has totally changed. How we communicate with the patients and each other, we use wireless phones, how patients order their meals now,” said Hauck. Most importantly, the patients who receive the care are consistently getting better healthcare thanks to advancements, but can also rely on the same hospital that has been around since 1966. “It’s all been good for patients though, all the changes that we make because we want to improve the care and we want to make it better for them. We want to make their experience a good one. No one want to be in a hospital so we want to make sure we’re communicating with them effectively and meeting their needs, so all those changes have helped that,” said Hauck. Unity Hospital was built 50 years ago to be a true reflection of unity in the community. As the area has expanded, Unity has continued to provide the community the care it needs. This week, it was announced that at the beginning of next year, Mercy and Unity Hospitals will become one hospital with two campuses and Unity Hospital will change it’s name to Mercy Hospital – Unity Campus. A few services will only be offered at one of the campuses, like obstetrics and mental health, but both campuses will keep their emergency rooms and most of their services.
