Mercy Hospital located in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York, serves as a vital healthcare facility for patients without health insurance.
Mercy Hospital continues to be referenced occasionally as an alternative healthcare facility for patients who, for various reasons, cannot receive treatment at GH.
Despite this noble service, it suffers from a less favorable reputation compared to General Hospital, with some characters dubbing the staff as "The butchers at Mercy." This portrayal highlights the stark contrast in healthcare quality within the narrative. Notably, Mercy Hospital rose to prominence when it became the primary care center after General Hospital was damaged by fire in February 2009, until its restoration in April of the same year.
Storylines[]
In November 1964, Dr. Steve Hardy asks Nurse Audrey March if she would like to work at Mercy Hospital rather than go back to General Hospital as he knows Mercy's chief of internal medicine.
In 1996, General Hospital's beloved Chief of Staff, Steve Hardy, succumbed to a fatal heart attack amidst the institution's financial struggles. His untimely death shook the community and nearly resulted in a takeover by the board at Mercy. In a twist of fate, Stefan Cassadine stepped in to purchase General Hospital, preventing the hostile takeover.
In 2002, Rick Webber came back to Port Charles as the front man for a medical healthcare group looking to acquire General Hospital, known as Kappa Healthcare. Alan Quartermaine pointed out that the company had a reputation for prioritizing profits over medical care. Rick countered this by mentioning that his company already managed Mercy Hospital.
In January 2008, General Hospital's new chief of staff, Dr. Russell Ford, enforces a policy redirecting patients without adequate insurance to Mercy Hospital. When Joe Smith and his pregnant wife are denied treatment at GH by Dr. Ford, Joe returns with a fake bomb strapped to himself, taking the Emergency Room hostage. He demands medical care for his wife.
In February 2009, following a fire that devastated General Hospital, Mercy Hospital stepped up to become the primary healthcare center in the city. During this critical period, several doctors and nurses who were originally employed at GH temporarily worked at Mercy while General Hospital underwent reconstruction. Among them were Doctors Patrick Drake, Robin Scorpio-Drake and Matt Hunter, as well as nurses Epiphany Johnson and Elizabeth Webber. Notably, characters Claudia Zacchara-Corinthos and Carly Spencer also made multiple visits to Mercy during their pregnancies. Additionally, Michael Corinthos remained at Mercy while in a coma, and his parents grappled with the decision of whether to attempt an experimental procedure to wake him up.
When General Hospital temporarily closed in 2016, Mercy became once again became the prominent hospital for a month. Sam McCall made a visit here during her pregnancy.
In September 2020 (after Cyrus Renault had taken over GH and made several staffing changes), Nurse Elizabeth Webber suggested that Michael Corinthos consider taking his son Wiley Corinthos to Mercy instead as the cardiac unit there was on the 'up and up'.
In February 2021, fearing she has Huntington's Disease and wanting to keep it quiet, Dr. Britt Westbourne looks into possible research and treatment at Mercy.
In May 2021, Sasha Gilmore says she is transferring to Mercy's OB/GYN to avoid Cyrus.
