The “Old San”
The present day Story County Medical Center was not the first hospital in Nevada. That distinction belongs to the Nevada Sanitarium – “Old San” – as it was known at the time.
The Iowa Sanitarium of the Seventh Day Adventists was dedicated on August 21, 1909 and located on 55 acres at the south end of, present day, 8th Street. The Sanitarium, which cost approximately $75,000 to build, was initiated by the Seventh Day Adventists in Des Moines who moved to Nevada because their Des Moines facility was “too noisy”!
The Sanitarium saw its first patient on October 1, 1909 and served area residents until it was tragically destroyed by fire on January 30, 1943. Remarkably, the fire, which started in the kitchen, claimed only one life. Early accounts of the “Old San” described a facility where patients could “take a hot bath and recover from a cold”, in addition to providing thriving surgical practice. There were also accounts of cows and chickens grazing on the facilities 55 acres in order to supply fresh milk and eggs to the staff and patients, as well as a garden for fruits and vegetables.
Story County Hospital
Ever since the Sanitarium had been destroyed by fire, the local citizens had desired a replacement hospital, and in 1944 a $100,000 bond issue was passed to build a new hospital. However, because of a shortage of raw materials and the post war economy, construction was delayed until August 14, 1950, when the cornerstone for the Story County Hospital was laid. The site for the new hospital was Nevada’s Old South Park.
On September 10, 1951 the hospital officially opened. Tours were provided, showing off the latest in hospital equipment, and the opening address was given by Dr. Ben Whitaker of Boone, Iowa. In 1953 the Hospital Guild was formed. It’s responsibilities included conducting hospital tours, arranging social activities, and folding bandages. In 1963 the Hospital Auxiliary was formed from the Nevada Federated Women’s Club. Their duties were much the same as they are today; running the gift shop, organizing blood drives, and providing needed services for the hospital patients.
The first major addition to the hospital occurred in 1969 when the first floor Long Term Care addition opened. The new addition was made possible through a generous donation of $154,000 by Reine Wells, a local resident. Originally the addition was to house 36 acute care beds, however, the Board of Directors thought there was a greater demand for long term care beds in Story County. With the new Long Term Care addition, the hospitals main entrance moved from the east side of the building, to the north.
On April 1, 1970, Story County Hospital started its own ambulance service to serve area residents. Prior to that time, funeral homes provided ambulance transport services.
In 1977 the second floor Long Term Care addition and Chapel were completed. Both were made possible through a $400,000 donation by Edith Robison of rural Nevada.
The Story County Hospital Endowment Foundation was incorporated in March 1977. Its early activities centered around physician recruiting. Gradually its mission changed to raising funds for hospital projects. Some of these projects included: remodeling of the business office and emergency room and resurfacing the main hospital parking lot in the 1990’s.
Like most rural facilities, Story County Hospital (SCH) faced uncertain times in the 80’s and early 90’s due to DRG’s and decreased funding. During this time period the hospital ceased its obstetrics, intensive care, and eating disorders programs. Like other rural facilities, SCH looked to outside relationships to help in their long-term survival and in 1988 it entered into a management agreement with Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines.
The hospital fortunes gradually began to improve and in March 1995 the Zearing Medical Clinic was opened. The Zearing Clinic was important, as it was the first successful long-term venture outside of Nevada. This was followed by the opening of the Maxwell Clinic in August 1996. Both clinics remain in operation and are outstanding examples of health care delivery in small rural communities.
Story County Medical Center
On December 20, 1999, one of the coldest days of the year, ground was broken for the new 8,000 square foot Medical Office Building and Rehabilitation Services addition. With the steady growth of the hospitals medical staff and dramatic growth in physical therapy services a new building was needed. The new addition opened on August 7, 2000, and the Board of Directors came to the conclusion that the term “hospital” no longer adequately described the services offered by the facility. Therefore, in September of that year, the hospital officially changed its name to Story County Medical Center (SCMC). The new name and logo were unveiled at the Grand Opening Celebration of the clinic.
Critical Access Hospital Status
Another milestone for the Medical Center occurred on December 1, 2001 when it was granted Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status by the Iowa Department of Public Health. The CAH program is a joint Federal and State initiative designed to increase Medicare payments to rural hospitals meeting certain operational requirements. As SCMC treated a disproportional amount of Medicare recipients, the additional payments had a dramatic impact on the facilities financial performance.