Regional West Medical Center's 100th Anniversary

Dear Friends,

As we celebrate 100 years of service to our friends, families, and neighbors, we look forward to the next century while reflecting on our humble beginnings.

In 1920, community leaders joined forces to establish a Methodist hospital in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. They secured cash and pledges of over $100,000 with which they purchased a newly constructed but unfinished hotel at the corner of 18th and Broadway in Scottsbluff.

After two years of construction, the new West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital opened on April 15, 1924 with community-wide fanfare. 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 not only the raised the money, but also provided the work force to staff it. Hospital stays were long and medications few, but compassionate care was plentiful.

No organization reaches 100 years without challenges. But with challenge comes opportunity, and we are proud of the many exciting things that are happening at Regional West. Throughout the decades, our name and location have changed along with medical technology, and our staff and services have grown dramatically, yet we are committed to providing the same excellent care upon which we built our reputation.

While much has changed since 1924, the dedication of our physicians, providers, employees, and countless others remains the same, and will continue as we embark on our next hundred years.

Thank you for trusting your healthcare to Regional West.

Mel McNea

Regional West CEO

Regional West Board of Directors

Jim Trumbull

Chair, Regional West Health Services and Regional West Medical Center

Seth Covalt

Troy Dean, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Rev. Lauren Ekdahl

Carolyn Escamilla

Lee Glenn

Dennis Hadden

Bradley Hertzler, MD, MDIV, FAC

Tom Holyoke

Hod Kosman

Craig Krentz*

Matt Larsen

Jeanne McKerrigan*

Mel McNea, MHA*

John Massey

Katy Reichert

Jeffrey Salisbury, MD

Amanda Vick, MBC, BSN, RN*

Michael Yung, MD

*Non-voting board members

West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital was located at 18th and Broadway, Scottsbluff.

Each member of the medical staff was a physician/surgeon who operated on his own patients.

West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital

On April 12, 1924, a huge parade was held in downtown Scottsbluff to celebrate the hospital’s grand opening. Dedication services were held the following day and western Nebraska’s new 20-bed hospital opened on April 15. It was called West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal Hospital. Only two floors of the 20-bed hospital were completed when it opened.

Within months, the hospital opened a nursing school to ensure the availability of well trained staff. And within four years, the rapidly increasing demand for hospital care required the completion of the third floor.

The new hospital was welcomed and supported by people throughout the panhandle and eastern Wyoming. The first trustees

New mothers were hospitalized with complete bed rest for up to two weeks in 1927.

included 69 men from 19 towns: 29 men from Scottsbluff; seven from Mitchell; six from Gering; three each from Bayard, Bridgeport, Crawford, and Torrington; two each from Morrill, Rushville, and Atkinson; and one each from Lingle, Henry, Lyman, Gordon, Thedford, Glenn, Ainsworth, Valentine, and Long Pine.

1920s

The West Nebraska Methodist Hospital Nurse Training School provided career training for high school graduates throughout the region, and well trained staff for the hospital.

In 1929, the hospital purchased this house at 21st and Broadway in Scottsbluff for nurses’ quarters. Nursing students lived there until the 1940s when a dormitory in Gering was purchased from the sugar factory.

1930s 1920s

The first patient admitted was from Mitchell and under the care of Dr. C.R. Watson.

The first baby was born on April 24, 1924.

About 70% of the hospital’s patients came from outside of Scottsbluff. They frequently brought their own local physicians to care for them.

Board members were intimately involved in day-to-day operations as well as soliciting money, obtaining loans, making repairs as they saw fit, and seeking food donations.

The hospital opened a “nurse training school” on October 20, 1924. There was no tuition, but the school day was 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and students were required to attend chapel at 6 a.m.

In 1928, the third floor of the hospital was finished and an elevator was added. The elevator was purchased with a $6,100 gift from Mr. A. Barnett of McCook.

The word “Episcopal,” meaning governed by bishops, was dropped from the hospital’s name.

Fourteen pairs of twins were born at the Scottsbluff hospital between opening day and January 23, 1933.

The Great Depression caused long-term financial problems for the hospital. A letter written in 1932 to a nursing student who was home on vacation asked that the student stay home until notified since the June patient census was down to 19 and could go lower in July.

By April 1, 1934, West Nebraska Methodist Hospital had admitted 12,215 patients.

Before the advent of plastic disposables, rubber tubing was sterilized by boiling and frequently burned to a crisp. The odor of burnt rubber was not unusual in the hospital.

1930s-1950s

In the 1940s, nursery care for premature infants included placing the babies in this wooden box which was equipped with a light bulb for heat and a hole for administration of oxygen.

In 1951, Dr. C.N. Sorensen established the School of Radiologic Technology to train technical staff to assist with X-rays.

1940s 1950s

Due to a shortage of staff during World War II, operating room supervisor Mary Lou Brown Williams was on call 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

During the war, housekeepers were often asked to help with nursing care.

The fourth floor was completed in November 1944.

After World War II, the region’s first medical specialists established practices in Scottsbluff. They included radiologist C.N. Sorensen, MD; ophthalmologists Lawrence Gridley, MD, and John Rosenau, MD; urologist James Hayhurst, MD; general surgeon J.P. Heinke, MD; and pathologist W.O. Brown, MD.

In 1947, the community launched a $200,000 fundraising campaign to complete the hospital’s fifth and sixth floors and purchase new equipment.

In 1949, St. Mary Hospital was built as a gift to the community from the Catholic Sisters of Saint Francis.

In 1950, the Hospital Auxiliary was founded by Edythe Emery to provide volunteers to assist the hospital. They were called “the pink ladies” because they wore pink jackets for identification.

Laboratory services expanded under the direction of Dr. W.O. Brown, who added new technology and offered laboratory services to other panhandle communities.

The west half of the sixth floor was completed to serve as a polio ward, under the direction of Dr. William Gentry and physical therapist Margaret Tucker.

Max Coppom was appointed hospital administrator, succeeding nine administrators in 30 years.

In 1954, the hospital’s name was changed to West Nebraska General Hospital (WNGH).

After some 15 years of discussion, the Board of Trustees launched a $1 million fundraising campaign to build a new hospital.

1960s

1960s

In 1960, West Nebraska General Hospital (WNGH) had 174 employees, 150 volunteers, and an annual operating budget just over $600,000.

Dr. Calvin Oba, the region’s first orthopaedic surgeon, joined the medical staff and ushered in a new era of medical technology and specialization.

WNGH was one of the first hospitals in the state to introduce home health care.

The new hospital included classrooms and a dormitory for the school of nursing.

The stained glass window in the hospital chapel was designed by French artist Gabriel Loire and imported from Chartres, France.

In February 1968, a four-bed coronary care unit was added on third floor.

The nuclear medicine program began in 1968.

With the decision to build a new hospital, West Nebraska General Hospital entered a period of growth and modernization in the 1960s. Volunteers launched western Nebraska’s largest ever fundraising campaign − raising over $1 million. The hospital was built on 11 acres of land donated by Roy Rugger. The total cost of the five-story building was $4.1 million. The new 112-bed West Nebraska General Hospital opened on May 6, 1967.

1970s

The old hospital, located at 18th and Broadway, was torn down in August 1971.

Regional West Foundation was incorporated in 1972.

Campus expansion began in 1975 with construction of the original Medical Office building.

St. Mary Hospital was purchased by West Nebraska General Hospital on November 30, 1977.

The first CT scan equipment was purchased for $350,000.

At the end of the decade, the hospital had over 700 employees.

The Southwest Addition, completed in 1979, added a Neonatal/ Intensive/Coronary Care Unit, Emergency Department, Day Surgery/Outpatient Care, Admitting, Respiratory Therapy, and a landmark ramp for ambulance access.

New procedures, advanced medical technology, and physician recruitment began to transform the hospital from a community hospital into a regional referral center. In 1971, the first pacemaker was surgically implanted, the first total hip replacement surgery was performed, and the Renal Dialysis Unit opened. In 1974, the nurses’ dormitory was converted to a graduated care unit. In addition to 27 family physicians, the medical staff included a growing number of medical specialists.

1980s

1980s

Max Coppom resigned after 25 years as administrator and president of West Nebraska General Hospital. Charles Marr became president in 1980, and David M. Nitschke was named president in 1987.

A 20-bed psychiatric inpatient unit opened through a joint venture with Richard Young Hospital of Omaha.

Inn Touch opened at the “South Unit.”

The University of Nebraska Medical Center assumed direction of the School of Nursing.

Medical Plaza North was completed in 1989 and 33 physicians opened offices in the building.

The 1980s ushered in a new era in cancer treatment with the installation of a cobalt treatment unit in 1982. By 1987 it was replaced with the first linear accelerator. In 1985, the $10.5 million Med Center 2000 was completed. The project included construction of the west tower, a new Medical/Surgical patient unit, a new kitchen and cafeteria, and relocation and expansion of Radiology and Surgery. In 1988, the hospital changed its name to Regional West Medical Center.

1990s 1990s

The Cardiac Catheterization Lab opened.

In 1991, the substance abuse treatment program and the psychiatric unit were combined to become The Behavioral Health Center.

Regional Care, Inc. (RCI) incorporated as the hospital’s own third-party health plan administrator.

The Regional Communications Network, a project of the Regional West Foundation, was developed to link all panhandle hospitals and emergency medical services.

In 1996, Regional West Medical Center was verified as the state’s second Level II Trauma center by the American College of Surgeons.

By the 1990s, almost all hospital departments were utilizing computer systems, but paper charts remained in use for patient records. In 1991, The Village at Regional West retirement community opened. In 1997, the hospital purchased Western Pathology Consultants and converted the Pathology Department to the Laboratory Services Department. In 1999, Medical Plaza South opened along with the Rehab Center, Cancer Treatment Center, Breast Health Center, outpatient pharmacy, clinics for the newly developed Horizons West Medical Group, and more.

2000s

2000s

In 2000, the Acute Rehabilitation Unit opened, followed by the new Emergency Department in 2001, and the Cardiac Catheterization Lab in 2002.

Onsite PET scanning introduced in 2004.

The Interventional Radiology suite opened in 2009.

The Breast Health Center introduced digital mammography in 2010.

In 2016, the Inpatient Dialysis Unit and Infusion Center opened.

Regional West entered a new era of surgical innovation in 2020 when the da Vinci® robotic-assisted surgical system was added.

In 2022, Regional West Medical Center accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ).

Regional West Emergency Medical Services began providing ambulance service in Scotts Bluff County in 2023, including the Scotts Bluff County 911 service. This marked the first time in the history of Regional West that all emergency services (ground, rotor, fixed-wing aircraft, and the Emergency Department) have been under one executive director.

New technology and equipment took center stage in the 2000s with the addition of onsite PET scanning, digital mammography, telehealth services, and the da Vinci® robotic-assisted surgical system. Regional West’s physical footprint expanded and changed with the opening of the Acute Rehabilitation Unit, the new Emergency Department, the Cardiac Catheterization Lab, the Interventional Radiology Suite, the Progressive Care Unit, the Inpatient Dialysis Unit, the Infusion Center, an additional Critical Care Unit, the Tranquility Garden, and a Comprehensive Weight Management Clinic.

· Acute Rehab Unit opens

· Birth & Infant Care Center with region’s only NICU opens

· Online patient charting begins

· New main entrance opens

· Cardiac Catheterization Lab opens

· Volunteer Services adopts new name: “Volunteers & Friends of Regional West”

· Onsite PET scanning introduced

· Telehealth technology begins

· Dorwart Cancer Care Center in Sidney gets linear accelerator

· Regional West named Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by ASBS

· Regional West Physicians Clinic founded

· Progressive Care Unit opens

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· New Emergency Department opens

Sorensen, MD, MS, named president

Sidney

· Hospitalist service begins

· Interventional Radiology suite opens

· “South Unit” renamed “St. Mary Plaza”

· Regional West Foundation unveils Tranquility Garden

· Avenue B is relocated

· Five-ton MRI magnet installed 13

· Cancer Treatment Center adds patient navigator 12

· Newly renovated St. Mary Plaza opens 15

· Clinical staff adopt designated color uniforms

· Regional West Education Center opens 10

· Newly renovated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit opens 14

· Breast Health Center introduces digital mammography

· Air Link unveils

Bell407GX helicopter

· Garden County Health Services affiliates with Regional West

· John Mentgen named president and CEO 16

· Inpatient Dialysis Unit opens

· Infusion Center opens

· Regional West Emergency Medical Services expand to panhandle communities

· Home care expands to 19 counties

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· New Cardiac Catheterization Lab opens

· 3D tomography introduced

· New Critical Care Unit under construction

· Regional West celebrates 95th anniversary

· University of Colorado Health Cancer Partnership begins

· Air Link adds fixed wing air ambulance

· Sidney and Chappell Family Medicine Clinics open

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· Comprehensive Weight Management Clinic opens

· Regional West partners with UCHealth for cancer care

· Regional West Home Care and Hospice service is transferred to Brookestone Home Health and Hospice

· Regional West Emergency Medical Services assumes Scotts Bluff County contract to provide 911 ambulance service

· Regional West hosts First Annual Western Nebraska Trauma Symposium

· Cardiology Clinic moves to new suite

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· da Vinci® robotic-assisted surgical system is added

· COVID-19 pandemic impacts healthcare worldwide

· Additional Critical Care Unit opens

· Regional West Connect virtual healthcare visits begin

· Hospital receives first COVID-19 vaccines

· Fundraising begins for new Varian Edge™ linear accelerator

· Medical Center accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ)

· Mel McNea hired as interim CEO

· April 15, 2024

Regional West Medical Center celebrates 100th anniversary

COVID-19

As COVID-19 went from being a new threat in the United States to being a very real threat in western Nebraska, the leadership and staff at Regional West prepared for the eventuality by holding planning meetings in December 2019, well before the county’s first confirmed case on March 29, 2020.

The community pitched in to help, making cloth masks, donating food and gift cards for the employees, and creating a night called “Light Up Regional West” on May 2, 2020 when local first responders drove by the facility with their flashing lights on in a show of support.

• Early in the pandemic, visitors were strictly prohibited from entering any Regional West healthcare facility. Hospital patients were encouraged to interact with family members and friends by phone calls, Facetime, Skype, and text messaging.

• Elective surgical procedures resumed May 4, 2020 after being closed to all but time-sensitive surgeries following a statewide directive.

• In late spring 2020, virtual healthcare clinic appointments were introduced.

• In-person hospital support groups were cancelled and moved to Zoom, an online meeting platform.

• On March 30, 2023, Regional West lifted the three-year visitation policy and welcomed visitors of all ages back to Regional West Medical Center and Regional West Physicians Clinics. During the pandemic, patients were limited to the number of visitors they could have as well as the ages of visitors.

• All care providers, employees, patients, and visitors were required to wear masks until March 8, 2023.

The late Matthew Bruner, MD, FACOG, who served as Chief Medical Officer at the time, said, “Our people across the health system stepped up, rather than shrinking back. By working around the clock to care for the community, the Regional West team came together and succeeded on many fronts throughout this pandemic.”

Regional West

4021 Avenue B Scottsbluff, NE 69361

308-635-3711

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