Silverton
Hospital Association was formed
in 1918 by local residents
who felt their town needed
a hospital to care for their
ill and injured. To raise sufficient
capital to buy a building and
equipment, shares of stock
were sold at $5 per share.
The first location of Silverton
Hospital was in a two-story
home on North Water Street
along Silver Creek.
Much of the first floor was used for
patient
rooms.
A
large
window
provided
ample
daylight
for
a
second-floor
operating
room,
but
with
no
elevator,
patients
had
to
be
carried
up
and
down
the
steps.
The
primitive
set-up
began
a
tradition
of
caring
that
has
endured
for
nearly
nine
decades.
A
bequest
from
a
patient
who
died
at
Silverton
Hospital
in
1926
provided
funds
for
the
construction
of
a
new
hospital.
Gerome
Morley,
a
bachelor
who
had
found
success
in
farming,
left
$23,000
to
benefit
the
hospital.
(Gerome
and
several
of
his
relatives
were
among
the
original
stockholders
in
1918.)
Morley's
gift
was
contested
by
some
family
members,
and
an
agreement
was
struck
in
1932
that
allowed
the
funds
to
be
used
to
build
a
new
facility,
and
also
allowed
his
relatives
free
use
of
the
new
hospital.
The
new
hospital
was
built
during
the
years
of
the
Great
Depression,
and
opened
at
its
current
site
in
1937.
The
building
has
since
undergone
numerous
upgrades
over
the
years.
In
1995, with the help of generous
community donations, a multi-phased
project was completed that transformed
Silverton Hospital into a state-of-the-art
healthcare facility. The continued
growth of the community, however,
has led to continued expansion
as we have added new programs
and services to meet our patients'
needs.
In 2002, Silverton Hospital added a beautiful and homelike Family Birth Center, a new chapel, an expanded Emergency Department, additional space for Surgery, Respiratory Therapy, Diagnostic Imaging, and more. Donors contributed $2 million to the $12 million expansion.
The newest improvement is the acquisition of a 64-slice CT scanner which improves doctors’ ability to diagnose illness and injury. The full $1.4 million cost of the new technology was funded entirely with donor contributions.
Related Links:
You Can Help
Foundation History
Board of Directors
Ways to Give
Founders Society
The Morley Society
Emergency Department Expansion
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