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Sisters of Mercy say goodbye to hospital, Knoxville after decades of service

When the doors of Saint Mary's opened in 1930, the Sisters of Mercy were there. Now that it's closed, they're saying goodbye

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — When the Saint Mary's story began, the Sisters of Mercy were there.

Now that Tennova has closed the hospital in North Knoxville, the two sisters still there are packing up to go. 

"It has never made any difference, a person's religion, their economic status," Sister Martha Naber said. "We took care of people."

Sister Albertine Paulus and Sister Martha Naber have worked in Knoxville for a combined 80+ years. 

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"The hospital has gone away. So it's time for us to go back to our home convent in Nashville where the next stage of life occur," Paulus said.  

The hospital has changed a lot since Naber was born there. It was renamed Physicians Regional and has had its fair share of firsts since opening 88 years ago. 

Credit: WBIR

It boasts the first cancer clinic in East Tennessee, the first heart center in Knoxville and the first intensive care unit in the city. 

It was there from birth to death for an untold number of people. 

"Sister Assisium probably assisted at the birth of thousands of people in Knoxville," Naber said. "It's just been a joy." 

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To this day, Naber and Albertine pray for the thousands of people they've met in Knoxville. 

Still, it's not easy to leave a place you love and packing up the history of 88 years and hundreds of sisters takes time. 

But the sisters know their legacy will last. 

Credit: WBIR

"I have an image of when we get to Heaven, we'll see this whole line of people that we've been a part of their lives for a brief moment," Naber said.

The sisters plan to move to their retirement home near Nashville around the first of March. 

"Just as the sisters were there to begin this hospital, we've come to be so grateful that we're here as the book closes on this chapter," Paulus said. 

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