Wishek Community Hospital & Clinics

Our Hospital

Timeline

     50 Years of Progress At a Glance

1950

First Capital Campaign to build the hospital: Goal    $80,000

1954

Wishek Community Hospital Opens

1963

First major renovation project adds 11 beds.  Funded through mortgage of hospital building and equipment.

1977

Wishek Clinic is built.  Funded through hospital loan.

1987

Second major renovation and Second Capital Campaign.  Project updated emergency room, operating room, X-ray and Lab. Goal: $280,000 and a FHA loan

1996

Third Capital Campaign.  Goal: $250,000 to purchase x-ray machine, renovate space to accommodate x-ray and replace hospital and clinic windows.

2000

Fourth Capital Campaign: Goal:$180,000.  Ground is broken in September for 1,700 sq. ft. addition to the Wishek Clinic.

2002

Dedication of new Wishek Clinic addition held April 19.

   Local Wishek businessman William E. Huber is largely credited with conceiving the idea in 1941 of building a hospital to serve residents of the Wishek area.  It took almost eight years for Mr. Huber's idea to take hold.

   In December 1949, an organizational membership meeting was held, resulting in the formation of the Wishek Hospital and Clinic Association (WHCA).  Founding board members included Walter Sayler, President, Fred Thurn, Vice President and Rev. T. F. Doyen, Secretary/Treasure, and directors E. P. Pfeifle, H. E. Timm, John V. Boschee, Dr. W. H. Mehlhaff, Walter Kocher, Emil P. Wiest, Jacob Brosy, Henry Gall, Jr. and A. J. Dobmeyer.  A fund drive was begun in October 1950 with its goal to raise $80,000 cash that would help pay for the estimated $196,000.

   An association with Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society (LHS) was established in 1951, giving the Fargo-based healthcare organization operational control of the Wishek Hospital.  It was a relationship that would last 42 years.

   Wishek Community Hospital celebrated its dedication in 1954, opening its doors in April of that year.  The beautiful new institution,  under the medical guidance of Dr. Franz Gutowski as its first Chief of Staff, could accommodate 16 patients in eight double rooms.  The hospital staff included administrator Ralph Opperman and approximately 11 others who worked as nurses, x-ray and lab technicians, cooks, nurse's aides and clerical employees.

  

    The healthcare needs of McIntosh and Logan counties continued to expand through the early 1960's, and hospital officials recognized a need to grow with this new demand.  On March 21, 1963, a  public meeting was held to discuss the wisdom of giving the  Board of Directors the authority to mortgage the facility to raise money for a new addition.  Forty-seven of the 63 residents who attended approved, and plans began for a wing that would add 11 beds and more services. 

    Construction on the $298,000 addition began in June 1963, and on May 24, 1964, a crowd estimated at 500 people turned out for the dedication of the new wing.

    The hospital had purchased two lots adjacent to the institution in 1970, and by the middle of that decade, the idea of having a clinic gained local support.  After more than two years of planning, construction began, and on Aug. 21, 1977 yet another dedication to Wishek's commitment to healthcare was held when the clinic opened its doors.

    The WHCA developed a strategic plan in 1982 designed to identify long-range goals and objectives and help ensure that the hospital would continue providing adequate services well into the future.  Part of the plan called for an assessment of the institution, completed in 1983, which uncovered a number of building code deficiencies.  A major construction and renovation project was recommended as the only acceptable solution.

     The institution's second major capital campaign set as its goal $280,000, which would help pay for the purchase of a new x-ray machine and renovation of space to house it, and the replacement of windows in the hospital and clinic.  An FHA loan provided the rest of the funding to complete the project, which was celebrated on May 8, 1988 with an open house and rededication.

    The hospital entered a new era of management in 1998 when the facility terminated its contract with LHS, electing instead to put control of the institution in the hands of its board and administration.  The WHCA reached a formal agreement to manage the clinics in Wishek and Napoleon as well as its satellite clinics in Fredonia, Lehr and Zeeland.  A Home Health Agency was added in 1993, which offered patients the opportunity to receive skilled nursing, home health assistance and physical therapy in their homes.  A licensed social worker was added in 1994 as an additional resource to assist patients.

    A sixth satellite clinic was opened in Streeter in 1993, and a  year later, satellites in Kulm and Gackle were added, bringing to eight the total number of clinics under the direction of the Wishek Community Hospital.  1994 and 1995 were prosperous years for the hospital.  New equipment for mammography, cardiac testing, computerized tomography (CT), anesthesia and blood analyzing were installed, further expanding the variety of services residents could receive here.

    Wishek Community Hospital and Clinics has firmly established itself as a major healthcare center in South Central North Dakota.  As patient visits grew at the Wishek Clinic, it became necessary to consider expanding that facility to provide more space for local and visiting specialists.  The hospital's fourth major capital campaign began in early 2000 with a goal of $180,000 to add a 1,700 sq. ft. addition to the Wishek Clinic.  Approximately $125,000 in local contributions helped fund the project, showing, once again, that residents of the area value having a locally owned and managed healthcare facility.  Construction began in September 2000, and the addition was dedicated April 19, 2002.

    Today, Wishek Community Hospital and Clinics has in excess of 100 employees, manages four clinic locations and continues to be the area's dominant healthcare organization.  While economic conditions have caused the cancellation of some major medical services in recent years, WCHC is proud of the quality and range of medical treatment and procedures it offers its patients, and has a sound relationship with a number of visiting specialists, giving area residents peace of mind that their immediate healthcare needs will be met.

Ambulance Service

    Nickisch Funeral Home owner Elmo Nickisch first provided ambulance service to the community in 1932 when he offered air taxi and ambulance transportation for those in need.  The service was continued by his sons, Steve and Willard after his death.  However in 1972, Nickisch's  announced it would discontinue its ambulance service, which forced city officials to look at other options.

    Wishek voters agreed the service was vital to the community, and passed a one-mill levy to purchase and support an ambulance service.  Today, the WCHC Ambulance Service has two completely equipped vehicles staffed 24 hours a day by a complement of paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and CPR-certified personnel.

Hospital Auxiliary

   The Wishek Hospital Auxiliary was organized in 1950 with 37 women signing the Charter.  The Auxiliary has been instrumental in every fund-raising campaign the institution has undertaken, and continues today as a most valued extension of WCHC which provides care, comfort and support to both staff and patients of the facility.

 

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