On Sunday, April 13, 1924 at 2:45 p.m., Bishop Charles Wesley

Burns dedicated the West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital at a ceremony to which “everyone” was invited. It was one of the biggest events in the early years of our community’s history. Since then, some of the most important events in the lives of many area residents have become part of our hospital’s history — moments of birth, moments of death, times of heartache and heartfelt joy.

We are grateful to the doctors, nurses, aides, board members, janitors, secretaries, volunteers, technicians, cooks, therapists, directors, ministers, and countless others who have contributed to Regional West Medical Center’s proud 90-year history. Without them, our hospital would be only a building; because of them, it has become one of Nebraska’s finest medical centers.

TODD S. SORENSEN, MD, MSPresident and Chief Executive Officer

As we enjoy our hospital’s 90th anniversary,

we celebrate the lives of individuals who have

made — and of those who continue to make — a difference in the health

and well-being of our region’s residents.”

North American Hotel Company stops construction on a

six-story building at 18th & Broadway in Scottsbluff.

1918 1920Community granted permission to develop a hospital under the

auspices of the Nebraska Methodist Conference. Scottsbluff Chamber of Commerce begins soliciting funds to

establish a Methodist Hospital.

April 15 | West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital

opens with seven patients. Only two of six floors completed.

1924 1924October 20 | School of Nursing opens with a class of four — two

will graduate.

Name shortened to West Nebraska Methodist Hospital.

1928 1928August | Third floor opens and elevator is installed. Previously;

patients were carried up and down stairs.

Hod Kosman Chairperson, Health ServicesJim Trumbull Chairperson, Medical CenterJim DarnellRev. Lauren EkdahlDonald Gentry, MDMark GillamLee GlennDavid GriffithsDennis Hadden David Holdt, MD Jeffrey Holloway, MD Tom HolyokeJane Hunter, Ed D Julie Marshall Dennis Miller (Health Services board)Lisa Scheppers, MD Todd Sorensen, MD, MSSheila Webb-Boyles

REGIONAL WEST Board of Directors

Home purchased for nurses quarters — located at 21st &

Broadway where Jolliffe Funeral Home is now located.

1929 1930Patient census drops due to the Great

Depression. Hospital has difficulty paying bills.

Hospital receives recognition from American College of

Surgeons.

1933

In 1922, at the urging of Gering physician Dr. Frank Young,

community leaders purchased a newly constructed but unfinished six story hotel for development as a Methodist hospital. The community paid $40,000 for the building, located at 18th and Broadway in Scottsbluff, with money raised through the Chamber of Commerce and a $17,000 loan from John Cook, Sr. of Scottsbluff. The 20-bed West Nebraska Methodist

Episcopal Hospital opened April 15, 1924. Seven patients were admitted the first day.

From the beginning, it was a “community” hospital — built on determination and through the hard work of citizens throughout western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming who raised the money and provided the work force to staff it. Even local students were involved. Goldie Ewing Bigsby, a member of Gering High School’s class of 1923, recalled sewing

1942Staff shortage due to World War II.

Many area residents leave for military service or war factory jobs.

Fourth floor is completed.

1944

A Proud PAST

pillow cases and bed sheets for the new hospital in her high school home economics class.

The original Board of Trustees was made up of 69 men from Scottsbluff, Gering, Mitchell, Morrill, Lyman, Henry, Minatare, Bayard, Bridgeport, Alliance, Crawford, Chadron, Gordon, Rushville, Atkinson, Thedford, Glenn, Ainsworth, Long Pine, and Valentine, Nebraska and Torrington and Lingle, Wyoming. The board was intimately involved in day-to-day operations. Much of their work centered on soliciting money, obtaining

loan renewals, and even seeking the donation of food when money was tight.

In the early days, much time was devoted to keeping the hospital running smoothly. The hospital’s first physicians were highly independent general practitioners, unaccustomed to working as a team, who did their own surgery, laboratory, X-ray, and anesthesia work. Differences with the 25-member medical staff contributed to the resignation of four nurse administrators during the hospital’s first five years.

The Catholic Order of the Sisters of St. Francis purchases Fairacres Hospital, a small “cottage hospital” built by Dr. E. J.

Mitchell, at 24th & Avenue F.

1945 1946Medical staff begins post-war

growth spurt.

East half of sixth floor completed for School of Nursing office and classrooms. Nurses move to

a remodeled sugar factory dormitory in Gering. A bus is purchased to transport them to work.

1948 1949St. Mary Hospital is built for $1.3

million as a gift to the community from the Sisters of St. Francis.

Hospital Auxiliary is developed by Edythe Emery.

1950

Dr. C.N. Sorensen opens School of Radiologic

Technology.

1951 1952Dr. W.O. Brown, the area’s first clinical

pathologist, sets up a laboratory on the first floor of the old hospital.

West half of sixth floor opens as a polio ward, under the direction of Dr. William Gentry of Gering.

1953 1954Max Coppom appointed hospital administrator, succeeding nine

administrators in 30 years.

Name changes to West Nebraska General Hospital..

1954

When the hospital opened, there were no antibiotics or vaccines.

Epidemics of meningitis, measles, whooping cough, typhoid, tuberculosis, and polio periodically swept through the community. The hospital staff did all it could to prevent infection. Nurses provided hot packs, cold packs, irrigations (running antiseptic solution across wounds), nutritious meals, and personal care.

To increase resistance to infection, physicians sometimes injected patients with “foreign proteins,” such as sterilized milk. Surgical patients routinely had drains inserted into their incisions and were given lots of intravenous fluids. In the 1930s, sulpha drugs were discovered to be infection fighters. By the time World War II ended, penicillin became widely available; dramatically improving outcomes from most types of infection.

The Olden DAYS

Judy Brothers Fricke was, perhaps, the first hospital patient to receive penicillin. She was given the new antibiotic in 1945 when she was hospitalized for one month with pneumonia.

Childbirth in the mid-20s was a two-week vacation for maternity patients. New mothers weren’t allowed on their feet until dismissal and nurses didn’t even raise the head of their bed for about 10 days after birth. They were only expected to nurse their infants. Fathers had somewhat

more responsibility. The diapers were sent home to be washed. Parents were also required to provide all of the baby’s clothing while in the hospital.

The hospital was quite proud of its emergency operating room, located on the first floor of the old building. It allowed immediate treatment without having to carry the patient upstairs to the other operating room. The elevator was not installed until 1928. The original emergency medical technicians

were morticians. Until well after World War II, they transported emergency patients to the hospital in hearses. Fall and early winter, during the sugar beet harvest, were the busiest months in the emergency room.

Board of Trustees launches $1 million campaign to build a new hospital.

1959 1960Roy Rugger donates 11 acres of land at the corner of Avenue B and 42nd

Street for the hospital site.

Groundbreaking ceremonies held for new hospital building.

1965 1966Hospital adds home health care.

May 6 | New 112-bed hospital is dedicated -- 12,000 people

attend open house. Construction totals $4.1 million.

1967

June 10 | Patients transferred from old hospital to new building.

1967 1968Intensive Care Unit opens.

Hospital Foundation developed. Dr. Calvin Oba performs first total

hip replacement surgery.

1972 1975Physician’s Office Building completed.

West Nebraska General Hospital purchases St. Mary Hospital for $1.5

million. Emergency Room begins round-the-clock coverage.

1977

During World War II, when the hospital was desperately short

of staff, the need for capable help outweighed the need for licensed, certified help. Mildred Sarbaugh, a hospital housekeeper, was often asked to help with nursing care. Many times, she was called back to the hospital in the evening after a full day’s work. Her husband Ray, a purchasing agent at the

hospital with no medical training, was frequently called upon to assist funeral directors in emergency situations.

Operating room supervisor Mary Lou (Brown) Williams, RN, was on call 24-hours a day, seven days a week during the war.

Until 1946, the hospital sent polio patients to Denver or Hot Springs, S.D., for treatment. That year Shirley DeMott, RN, the hospital’s first physical therapist, was hired to manage a small polio ward on the first floor. Physical

therapy relieved pain, prevented muscle-tightening, and helped strengthen muscles in polio patients. Patients came from as far away as Grand Island. They included infants, children, teenagers, and adults. In 1953, the polio ward was moved to the sixth floor. Dr. Bill Gentry and Margaret Tucker, PT, were also instrumental in polio treatment.

The War YEARS

First CT scan equipment purchased for $350,000.

1978 1979Southwest Addition completed — includes Neonatal/

Intensive/Coronary Care Units, Emergency Department, Day Surgery/Outpatient Care, Admitting, Respiratory Therapy,

operating rooms, trauma rooms, and recovery room.

Max Coppom resigns. Charles Marr named president.

1980 1983Ground breaking for Med Center 2000.

1984Hospital gains Rural

Referral Center status. Psychiatric Center opens.

Following World War II, the medical staff grew rapidly as physician-soldiers

returned from military service. In a three-year period, 11 doctors opened medical practices in the valley. They included Drs. Doug Campbell, Carl Frank, Lawrence Gridley, Walter Harvey, Jim Hayhurst, J.P. Heinke, W.E. Holmes, Jacob Krieg, Ed Loeffel, C.N. Sorensen, and Stuart Wiley. Several were specialists — the first in the region. Dr. Gridley was an

ophthalmologist; Dr. Hayhurst, a urologist; Dr. Heinke, a surgeon; and Dr. Sorensen, a radiologist.

In 1949, Dr. C.N. Sorensen established the Radiology department on the second floor of the old hospital. It was a one-man operation. He would mix the barium, take the X-rays, develop the film and type his own reports. He had one old X-ray machine, a tiny dark room, and no staff. In 1951, he opened the School of Radiologic Technology to train additional staff.

In 1952, Dr. W.O. Brown, a clinical pathologist, joined the medical staff and established the hospital’s first laboratory. In 1956, he opened the School of Medical Technology. With increasing use of automated equipment in the 1950s, the laboratory began to provide pathology services for other panhandle communities. Dr. Brown’s lab was the first in the region to offer on-the-spot tissue diagnosis for the management of surgical procedures. With the addition of Dr. Alvin Armstrong in 1971, laboratory services began a period of expansion, which included the creation of the blood bank.

Orthopaedic surgeons introduce arthroscopy.

1983

Post-War EXPANSION

Though many have contributed to the hospital’s success, former

President Max Coppom will be forever credited as its cornerstone. He held things together through the worst of times ― when money was in short supply and the old hospital was outdated and overcrowded.

Max created a bond and shared vision with board members, physicians, and the community. With an MBA and lots of common sense, he guided West Nebraska General Hospital from an ailing 82-bed community hospital to a progressive 256-bed regional health care center in solid financial standing.

During more than 25 years of leadership ― from 1954 to 1980 ―he initiated an aggressive physician recruitment program which brought many new family practice physicians

and specialists to the region. He oversaw fundraising and construction of a new hospital. He spearheaded the development of the Foundation, two important hospital additions, and the merger with St. Mary Hospital. During his tenure, numerous services were added, including home health care, intensive care, renal dialysis, orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, advanced radiology services, coronary care, outpatient surgery, and 24-hour emergency care.

Med Center 2000 completed — includes Radiology Department, Surgery Department,

Medical/Surgical Nursing Unit, Outpatient Unit, Admitting, kitchen, and cafeteria.

1985 1985American College of Surgeons

approves cancer program. Grand opening of new Rehabilitation

Department.

Charles Marr resigns.

1986 1987David M. Nitschke named president

The University of Nebraska Medical Center assumes direction of the

School of Nursing.

1988

Max Coppom

November 1 | Name changes to Regional West Medical Center.

1988 1989Medical Office Plaza completed —

33 physicians relocate to new building. Outpatient Surgery department expands.

Cardiac Catheterization Lab opens. Senior Services program

begins.

1990 1991The Village at Regional West

opens. Sports Medicine and Wellness Center opens.

Radiology acquires permanent MRI unit.

1992

Regional West receives Level II Trauma Center verification — one

of only two in the state

1994 1995Air Link air ambulance service

added to trauma system. Mobile lithotripsy offered for kidney

stone treatment.

Regional West purchases laboratory services from Western Pathology Consultants. Laboratory moves to new location near Park Bench cafeteria.

Family Practice Residency program begins.

1997 1998The Apothecary Shoppe opens at

the Medical Office Plaza. Information Systems task forces begin work on Y2K issues. Construction begins on

new Medical Office Building.

April 15 | Regional West Medical Center celebrates its

75th Anniversary.

1999 2001Todd S. Sorensen, MD, MS,

named president.

To ensure the availability of trained nurses, the board created the

School of Nursing shortly after the hospital opened. The three-year diploma program certified students as registered nurses. The hospital provided housing, first at the corner of 18th and Avenue A, then in a mansion at 21st and Broadway. In 1948, the nurses’ home was relocated to a remodeled sugar

factory dormitory in Gering and a bus was purchased to transport the students to classes and work.

By the mid-1950s, over 300 students had graduated, but the expense of operating the school put its future in jeopardy. However, when board member William Skinner was hospitalized, he was so impressed by the quality of the student nurses that he influenced the decision to keep the school open and give it the resources it desperately needed. Shortly afterwards, under the leadership of Virginia Miller, RN, the

West Nebraska General Hospital School of Nursing became the smallest nursing school in the United States to receive national accreditation.

Enrollment grew steadily. The students were very well trained and a source of pride for the hospital, the community, and especially Virginia Miller. To her students, Virginia was a great role model. She represented well the high ideals and seriousness of nursing without demands for the rigid conformity expected of nurses in that era — for example, standing up and offering

School of NURSING

one’s seat when a physician entered the room. She retired in 1986 when the University of Nebraska College of Nursing established a campus in Scottsbluff.

When the new hospital was constructed, a wing was included as the nurses’ dormitory. As men and other non-traditional students began to enroll, the nursing school elected to eliminate

student housing. The dormitory was then converted to the Restorative Care Unit.

In 1988, the University of Nebraska Medical Center assumed direction of the School of Nursing. Ironically, following the closure of the Restorative Care Unit in 2013, the wing was converted to offices and classrooms for the UNMC College of Nursing.

2001Todd S. Sorensen, MD, MS,

named president.

Acute Rehabilitation Center opens.

2001 2001C.B. and Lucille K. Dorwart

Cancer Care Center opens in Sidney, Neb.

Cancer Services receive first “Outstanding Achievement Award.”

2004 2004On-site PET scan technology

introduced.

Medical Center of the Rockies opens.

2007 2007Ambulatory Surgery

Center opens.

Physicians Clinic opens.

2008 2009Hospitalist service begins.

Groundbreaking held for construction of

panhandle-wide fiber optic medical network.

2010 2011Avenue B is relocated.

Regional West Foundation unveils Tranquility Garden.

2011

Recognizing the need to offer a helping hand to the nursing staff,

Edythe Emery organized the West Nebraska General Hospital Auxiliary on November 17, 1950. In those days, all of the volunteers were women. They were often referred to as the “Pink Ladies” because they all wore pink jackets for identification. Today, hundreds of women

and men donate their time and talents to the hospital. In 1996, the Auxiliary changed its name to the Volunteers and Friends of Regional West.

Through the years, volunteers have managed and operated the coffee and gift shop as well as the old Thrift Shop, which was first located next to the hospital and later located at West 17th Street and Avenue A. They also supervised the Candy Striper program. For nearly 63 years, volunteers have

delivered mail and flowers to patient rooms, served as foster parents for nursing students, hosted Christmas boutiques, and mended bed linens and uniforms.

Since 1950, the Volunteers and Friends of Regional West organization has generously contributed over $1.5 million for hospital equipment, services, nursing scholarships, and programs.

Dedicated VOLUNTEERS

2012Physicians Clinic joins Nebraska

Health Information Exchange

2014Garden County Health Services affiliates

with Regional West.

Regional West Foundation which is governed by a volunteer board of directors, was established in 1972. Originally organized to raise funds for the hospital, its mission has since changed to support projects to strengthen health care services that are essential to the quality and growth of our local medical community, including new technology, building improvements, and health education scholarships.

In 1961, Calvin Oba, MD, joined the medical staff as the first

orthopaedic surgeon. He ushered in a new era of medical technology and specialization, the likes of which had never been available in a town the size of Scottsbluff. With the construction of a new hospital, there was space to grow

and increasingly sophisticated health care to deliver. Soon, the hospital staff was working with cardiac monitors, X-ray therapy units, and surgical microscopes.

West Nebraska General Hospital was one of the first in the state to introduce home health care. By 1968, intensive care and nuclear medicine were added.

The medical staff continued to grow. Between 1969 and 1973, 23 physicians joined the staff, among

Breast Health Center achieves 10-years of “Perfect” federal quality

inspections.

2013

Cancer Services receive fourth consecutive “Outstanding

Achievement Award.”

2014

John A. Mentgen named President and CEO

2014

Specialized CARE

them: Drs. Paul Phillips, R. Dan Clark, Don Gentry, Alvin Armstrong, Wendell Ropp, James Simpson, and David Sell. In 1973, Dr. Ernest Beehler brought neurosurgery to western Nebraska. Ground was broken for the Southwest Addition and the emergency room began 24-hour service. With the purchase of St. Mary Hospital in 1977, service expanded to 243 beds.

In the 1980s, another influx of new physicians brought internal medicine specialists, family practice physicians, obstetricians/gynecologists, and ophthalmologists to the region. As

surgery became more sophisticated, it also became less invasive. “Day surgery,” more commonly known today as “outpatient surgery,” enabled patients to heal more rapidly and return to normal activities more quickly.

Charles Marr was named president in 1980; a position he held until 1986. Under his leadership, cancer and psychiatric treatment were added to the growing list of specialized services and a new wing was constructed to house radiology, surgery, and a new medical-surgical unit. These rapid changes quickly propelled the hospital into a

uniquely sophisticated rural medical center.

Marr initiated a long-range planning process to assess regional medical care needs that culminated in Med Center 2000 — an ambitious effort to consolidate acute services at the “North Unit” and the School of Nursing and non-acute services at the “South Unit.” The result was a major building addition that included all new surgery and radiology facilities and helped to attract new surgeons, radiologists, and other medical specialists to West Nebraska General Hospital.

Med Center 2000 offers the promise of improved health care and health education to the region.”

In 1987, David M. Nitschke was named president. A year later, the

board of directors changed the name of the hospital and established a holding company — Regional West Health Services — to operate and manage six health care related corporations, including: Regional West Medical Center; Regional West Foundation; The Village at Regional West; Regional Care, Inc.; Panhandle Health Services; and Panhandle Health Properties.

The change made the organization more flexible for providing health-related services other than acute care. The new corporate structure was established primarily in response to reductions in government reimbursement. Like thousands of other hospitals in the country, the hospital needed to develop alternative sources of revenue for future economic stability.

Rapid growth ensued: Medical Plaza North was completed in 1989 and the Village at Regional West opened in 1991. Regional West added cardiac catheterization, behavioral health, hospice, and trauma care as well as Air Link air ambulance service. In July 1999, a grand opening was held for the new Medical Plaza South, which featured a new comprehensive Rehab Center and Cancer Treatment Center.

The use of computer technology also expanded. Providers, staff, and patients gradually adjusted to the ever quickening pace of high tech health care delivery as the hospital introduced its own website.

On April 15, 1999, the hospital celebrated its 75th anniversary. Max Coppom and Chuck Marr returned to Scottsbluff-Gering to celebrate with David Nitschke and the community. A time capsule was sealed for future generations to open in recognition of the hospital’s first 75 years.

Growth and EXPANSION

By 2000, Regional West Medical Center was a 279-bed medical center

staffed by over 120 active and associate physicians representing 33 medical specialties. Todd Sorensen, MD, MS, was named president in September 2000.

A new Birth and Infant Care Center was added on the north end of the main building and a totally redesigned Emergency Department and new visitors’ entrance were added on the south side of the hospital. The entire fourth floor was converted to an Acute Rehabilitation Unit to ensure a continuum of care for trauma patients.

Gastric bypass surgery and laparoscopic banding were introduced, which led to Regional West’s designation as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. Cancer treatment services expanded at the new Cancer Treatment Center in Scottsbluff and the Dorwart Cancer Care Center in

Sidney. Before long, the Regional West Cancer Services program was recognized for Outstanding Achievement by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

Prevention became as important as acute care. Wellness programs were promoted by the hospital in hope that participants would avoid disease and injury. Diagnostic services, such as pathology and medical imaging, became sophisticated enough to detect diseases even before patients experience symptoms. Surgical procedures became so advanced that gall bladders could be removed through an inch-long incision. Emergency services had become so high-tech, they could stop the damaging effects of a heart attack by dissolving the blood clot within a few hours of the onset of symptoms. Patient stays became shorter as patients recovered more quickly. Outpatient procedures outnumbered inpatient procedures.

In 2004, Regional West became a partner in the development and construction of Medical Center of the Rockies, a new tertiary hospital at Loveland, Colo. The

hospital opened in February 2007, changing referral patterns for cardiac and other high risk patient care.

Efforts to expand laboratory services began when the hospital purchased the lab from Western Pathology in 1997. The lab was viewed as a viable way to supplement the hospital’s income using equipment already in place and utilizing lab staff that already worked around the clock to provide services for surgery and trauma care. Laboratory services were transformed from a costly, but essential part of running a hospital, to a revenue center, ultimately serving hospitals, physician clinics, home health agencies, nursing homes, law enforcement agencies, and veterinarians throughout Nebraska, Wyoming, Iowa, and Idaho.

Construction of a new ambulatory surgery center, located west of the Emergency Department in 2006-2007 expanded outpatient surgery services. In addition, it provided greater availability of operating rooms for inpatients and emergency patients.

21st CENTURY

Changes in health care services, billing, recruitment, and regulations

led Regional West leadership to examine a new concept in the delivery of health care called Physician Hospital Integration. In September 2008, after more than two years of research and analysis, the providers and employees of more than a dozen local physicians’ offices became employees of Regional West Physicians Clinic, which was a new addition to the Regional West Health Services corporate structure. The new organization allows participating doctors to be actively involved with hospital management in decision-making related to quality, safety, and patient care.

Hospitalists — internal medicine physicians whose entire practice is made up of hospitalized patients — were introduced in 2009 to oversee care of

hospitalized patients on behalf of local providers. The service allows referring providers to devote their time and energy to patients in their clinics, while the hospitalists provide care exclusively to patients in the hospital.

In 2010, Regional West initiated the relocation of Avenue B to the west to make room for expansion of the surgery department. The street was moved in 2011 — enveloping the north end of Avenue B and the Surgery Center in the main campus; however, renovation of the surgery department was postponed due to concerns about the U.S. economic crisis and its impact on health care. Renovation of St. Mary Plaza was completed and several departments were relocated to the south campus in an effort to concentrate clinical services on the main medical center campus.

Much has changed since West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital opened 90 years ago. Gone are the patient

flipcharts of old. Providers now carry computer tablets that allow them to securely view a patient’s entire medical record instantly. Patients now undergo minimal incision surgery with no overnight stay for conditions that once required invasive open procedures and extended hospitalization. Yet, here in western Nebraska, neighbors still care for neighbors. Regional West still seeks to serve all the people of regional communities. And we ask always ― what is in the best interest of the patient?

Ever-Changing HEALTH

CARE

West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital

Standing six stories tall at the corner of 18th and Broadway

in Scottsbluff, the West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital was one of the most formidable structures in the city when it opened in 1924. It was touted for its well ventilated rooms, high ceilings, and bright, cheery atmosphere. Historic documents make many references to the fact that it was a “standardized” hospital, meaning it was required to meet specific public health standards and provide extra service without added cost.

Opening with 20 beds on two floors, it grew to 60 beds on three floors by

1928. Single private daily room rates were $5 to $7, a double room was $4 and ward rooms $3. There was one bathroom per floor. Patient beds had to be hand-cranked and were on wheels — making it difficult to help patients in and out of bed on the smooth linoleum floors. The first floor housed patient rooms, the chapel, business office, administrator’s office, operating room, kitchen, dining room, and sterilization room.

A 1927 Star-Herald article noted that the kitchen ice box could hold “2,000 pounds of frozen water.” The stove top measured four by 12 feet and was seldom cool. The first dietitian planned four meals a day, including a midnight meal for the night nurses. One cook

did all of the cooking; one assistant prepared all vegetables, set the table, served the nurses, and washed the dishes; and one “girl” prepared all patient trays. The average cost of “foodstuffs” was about $300 per year. The hospital solicited the donation of food and accepted produce in payment of bills.

The building was vacated on June 10, 1967. On August 21, 1971, a 6,000 pound wrecking ball began knocking down the walls as crowds of people watched. The hospital was demolished and debris cleared in one week.

St. Mary Hospital

St. Mary Plaza was originally St. Mary Hospital, built in 1949 and operated

by the Catholic Order of the Sisters of St. Francis. The sisters purchased the Fairacres Hospital at 24th and Avenue F in 1945.

On September 12, 1949, the newly constructed St. Mary Hospital opened

at 3700 Avenue D. The hospital thrived during the 1950s and 60s, but began to face financial difficulties in the 1970s. On November 30, 1977, St. Mary Hospital was purchased by West Nebraska General Hospital (WNGH) for $1.5 million. The purchase was controversial at the time but the merger proved beneficial to the Sisters of St. Francis and to WNGH.

In recent years, the building was remodeled and renovated to house non-clinical hospital departments and services, including Information Systems, Finance, Marketing and Public Relations, Scheduling, Community Health, Inn Touch, and more.

For more than 25 years, the Sisters of St. Francis ministered to the sick and suffering and helped to deliver and care for hundreds of babies.”

West Nebraska General Hospital

On May 6, 1967, Ivan Childs, building committee chairman

and former president of the Board of Trustees, cut the ribbon to open the new West Nebraska General Hospital building. “It took a great deal of faith to launch a $2 million project. If we had known that it would increase to a $4 million project, I am not sure we would have met the challenge,” he said. It was estimated that 12,000 people toured the new hospital during a weekend open house.

Over $1 million was raised locally for construction of the hospital. The hospital received $1.4 million in federal Hill-Burton matching grant funds. The 112-bed building was constructed on

11 acres of land at 42nd Street and Avenue B, which was donated by Roy Rugger. Ground breaking ceremonies were held April 25, 1965, and construction began on April 29.

The new hospital had three elevators that worked, as opposed to the one that frequently did not work at the old hospital. There were 13 deluxe private beds, 31 private beds, 60 semi-private beds, eight ward beds, and 12 bassinets. The new building was fully air conditioned and featured an 11-station pneumatic tube system for quick written communication between nursing units, central service, pharmacy, the business office, laboratory, medical records, radiology, and food service. Another much appreciated amenity was the parking lot.

In 1974, the nurses’ dormitory was converted to a graduated care unit, bringing the hospital’s capacity to 139 beds. In June 1975, the original Medical Office Building was completed at the southeastern corner of the hospital. The building was intended to help attract physicians to the region by providing easily obtainable office space. The final major construction project under the leadership of President Max Coppom was the Southwest Addition. This $3.5 million project added the Emergency Department and ramp, the Outpatient Surgery, Coronary/Neonatal/Intensive Care Unit, Respiratory Therapy, and Admitting. It brought total bed capacity to 256.

Regional West Medical Center

On November 1, 1988, the hospital officially changed its name to

Regional West Medical Center. The change was driven by the hospital’s desire to communicate its status as a rural referral center (a designation of the United States Health Care Financing Administration) and to reflect its wide service area.

While the medical center expanded its campus with the construction of the Medical Office Plaza, it also expanded

efforts to recruit medical specialists so regional patients would not have to seek treatment elsewhere.

In 1994, Regional West Medical Center became one of two Nebraska hospitals (today there are three) to receive Level II Trauma Center verification by the American College of Surgeons. Under the leadership of Dr. Lloyd Westerbuhr, a comprehensive regional trauma system was developed in cooperation with area hospitals and emergency service providers. Through Regional West

Foundation, $1.2 million was provided to establish training, communications, and the necessary infrastructure for the Regional Trauma Network. In 1995, Air Link air ambulance service was added to the trauma system.

Today, Regional West is the primary resource for comprehensive medical care for the people and communities of western Nebraska, eastern Wyoming, southwestern South Dakota, and northeastern Colorado.

With over 110 active physicians, plus an additional 25 consulting specialists, the Regional West family of health care organizations offers care that spans more than 30 medical specialties.”

4021 Avenue BScottsbluff, NE 69361

rwhs.org308.635.3711