With the establishment of The Friends of St. Mary’s Hospital foundation in 1988, the hospital began an ongoing program of philanthropy to serve as a bond with the community and provide resources to help further its mission of health care to all persons, regardless of ability to pay.

The Friends has grown from a program yielding approximately $160,000 in 1988 to an entity that raised over $10 million in its first ten years of existence. These additional sources of income enable St Mary's Hospital to continuously upgrade the health and medical services provided to the people of Decatur and surrounding areas.

We owe our success in great part to the thousands of individuals, families, board members, physicians, and businesses who have supported the mission of St. Mary’s Hospital through giving to foundation.