The original Mackay Hospital — named Mackay Clinic — was built by Mackay in Tamsui in 1880 and named to commemorate George Leslie Mackay, whose widow donated the funds.[1] At that time, the Mackay Clinic was the first western medical institution in northern Taiwan. It was temporarily closed in 1901 at the death of Mackay.[2]
Mackay Hospital was reopened in 1906. In 1912, it was relocated from Tamsui to Taipei and renamed Mackay Memorial Hospital.[3] Its logo bears the date of the original foundation: 1880.
Clarence Holleman ran the financially struggling hospital from 1957 to 1960,[4] and during his tenure, corresponded with Samuel Noordhoff [zh], who became Holleman's successor. In 1967, the hospital built the first intensive care unit in Taiwan. Chang Chin-wen, a colleague of Noordhoff's, derived the term's Chinese translation. Two years later, Mackay Memorial Hospital began offering services as the first suicide prevention center in Southeast Asia. Chang, who had watched The Slender Thread, advocated for a suicide hotline as well, which became operational in July 1969. Nordhoff later sent Chang to study medical management in the United States, while Nordhoff himself returned to the US to be trained in cleft lip and palate surgery. After their return to Taiwan, Mackay Memorial Hospital built the first specialized cleft lip and palate center in Taiwan. In 1994, it established the first demonstration burn ward in Taiwan.[5][6]
