City: Branson, MO

Category: Health Care

Telephone: (417) 885-2000

Address: 1235 East Cherokee St.

Description: Founded in 1891 by three members of the Sisters of Mercy, St. John’s became Springfield’s first hospital to serve the growing town of 22,000. Housed in a small brick home, the new hospital had four patient rooms. Its stretcher was an old door. Today the hospital includes a 1,016-bed medical facility, 375 physicians, and home-care services for southwestern Missouri and northern Arkansas, and has recently been under a multi-million-dollar face-lift and expansion. They have hospitals in Aurora, Lebanon, St. Francis, Cassville, and Berryville, Arkansas, in addition to the main hospital in Springfield. St. John’s provides expertise in 40 medical specialties as well as services in general areas such as pediatrics, mental health, nutrition, pregnancy, intensive care, heart disease, and many others. The hospital is active in educational programs and offers support groups and outpatient services. St. John’s will provide a services and information packet if you call the number above. You can access an online version of the hospital’s publication Healthy People by going to the Web site listed above.