Project Acclaim Honors Silver Cross Hospital for COVID-19 Efforts, 125 Years of Service
Project Acclaim recently honored Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox with induction into the 2020 Hall of Pride for exceptional service during the COVID-19 pandemic and for the hospital’s 125 years of services to the community.
The late Rev. James E. Allen founded Project Acclaim as Project Pride, a coalition determined to promote the positive elements of life in the Joliet area in the face of a horrible recession with devastating effects on the community.
In 1987, they created the Hall of Pride, adding classes of four to five members each year to this local hall of fame. The Hall of Pride honors those who have made our communities better places to live. Now, there are more than 140 individuals and groups honored.
The pandemic cancelled Hall of Pride inductions in 2020 and 2021, but Project Acclaim representatives will long remember the achievements in making our community a source of pride.
“We selected Silver Cross Hospital as our 2020 Hall of Pride inductee because of their extraordinary efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nick Macris, Project Acclaim Board Member.
“The hospital’s impact has been tremendous, including producing several dozen informational videos to properly educate the community on COVID-19.”
Macris said this was just another example of Silver Cross’ efforts to serve the community in its 125 years, celebrated in November 2020, noting that in the early 1890s, a group of Will County women decided Joliet needed a hospital east of the river.
They raised money through community donations, bake sales, trolley pass sales, any way they could make the dream come true. By 1895, they had raised enough to build a 33-bed hospital on Thanksgiving Day off U.S. 6 and Walnut Street.
Through 21 presidents, two world wars, the ratification of Constitutional Amendments 16 to 27 (Including the 19th , giving women the right to vote), Silver Cross Hospital has grown to a 650,000-square-foot, 300-bed facility on a 130-acre campus in New Lenox that also includes an Ambulatory Surgery Center, Endoscopy Center and Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital.
“On behalf of our entire Silver Cross family, I am both proud and humbled to have Silver Cross Hospital inducted into the Project Acclaim Hall of Pride for 2020,” said Ruth Colby, Silver Cross President and CEO, after receiving the award from Macris.
“We are especially proud this award recognizes those dedicated to people who work to make Will County and the greater Joliet area a better place to live and raise a family. At Silver Cross, that’s truly what we are all about.”
For more information, visit silvercross.org
