Community Hospital celebrating 35 years

Community Hospital will celebrate its 35th anniversary and National Hospital Week by inviting the public to a picnic at the hospital on Friday, May 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is no charge to attend.

Schmick's Market will be serving grilled hamburgers, potato salad, pork and beans and anniversary cake near the front entrance of the hospital. Attendees are asked to park on the street to allow patients and their families closer access to the hospital entrance. In case of rain, food will be served in the Harvest Café with limited meeting room space available to eat.

During the picnic, tours will also be conducted of a mock patient room. The room simulates the floor plan of a patient room in the new patient wing Community Hospital will be constructing beginning this fall. The mock patient room is set up in the storage shed in the far northeast corner of the hospital's property.

Community Hospital was built in 1974 to replace an outdated St. Catherine's Hospital. The round pod structure, which was designed by Leo A. Daly, an Omaha architectural firm, was "unduplicated by any hospital anywhere," according to a January 1974 McCook Daily Gazette article. The 56-bed hospital was completed at the cost of $2.2 million, opening July 1, 1974, and offering at that time all the latest services and equipment for the community and area.

More than 50 volunteers helped the entire July 1 weekend to move hospital patients and departments to the new facility. One of the first patients included Helen Reed, wife of the late Dr. Roland Reed of McCook. McCook and area ambulances, as well as private vehicles, helped to move the patients. Two days later, the first baby, Kim Forch, was born on July 3.

The first administrator was Sister Paschala Noonan, serving at St. Catherine's hospital beginning in 1966, and also at the new facility, leaving in December of 1974. She was one of the honored guests at Community Hospital's 25th anniversary celebration.

The original building--only 45,074 square feet, was not even one-third the size of today's campus. Through the years, Community Hospital has continued to upgrade services, the facility, staff and technology to provide for the region's healthcare needs. Subsequent improvements have not only helped to add new services, but also increased campus size significantly. With several hospital additions and remodeling projects, and the addition of several medical clinics, the hospital campus and Southview Plaza now total more than 150,000 square feet.

For more information, log on to www.chmccook.org.