Mary Rutan Hospital celebrates 100 years
Mary Rutan Hospital, 205 Palmer Ave., Bellefontaine, marks its 100th anniversary Tuesday. (EXAMINER PHOTO | NATE SMITH)
A community pillar celebrates a major milestone this month, as Mary Rutan Hospital commemorates 100 years of service Tuesday, March 19.
Positive relationships forged between the hospital and the community it serves are primary reasons the hospital has been able to accomplish what many other rural health care service providers have been unable to do — remain open and stable for 100 years, say administrators and long-time hospital staff members.
On March 30, 1919, the first three patients were admitted to the hospital, and since those earliest admissions, the hospital continues to prioritize patient care, said Janice Atterholt, who has worked in the labor and delivery wing at MRH for 38 years.
“To me, this anniversary means that the hospital has a good foundation, and continues to put patients first,” she said. “Every person that comes to the hospital is different, has different needs and everyone on staff here works to personalize the care for every patient.”
Mary Rutan Hospital is community-oriented, both in focus and by organization, emphasizes hospital president and CEO Mandy Goble.
“One reason we have remained stable is because we have stayed independent and community-oriented,” she said. “If you look at it, there aren’t many rural hospitals that have not been taken over and become part of a larger health network.
“When that happens, jobs are usually lost, and services typically get cut.”
In fact, MRH traces its roots to the benevolence of members of the same community it now serves.
Mrs. Rebecca R. Rutan Williams donated an 880-acre Ridgewayarea farm to the city of Bellefontaine in 1911, and with proceeds from the sale of the farm, a hospital was to be built, according to historical information circulated by the hospital.
Mary Rutan Hospital as it was being constructed by the Knowlton Construction Company crew in March 1918.
The only request that Mrs. Rutan Williams made of the donation was that the hospital should be named after her mother, Mary Rutan. Likewise, she also gave Bellefontaine the tracts of land that are now home to Mary Rutan Park.
Mary Ann Magruder Rutan is the woman for whom Mary Rutan Hospital and Mary Rutan Park are named. She was born in the early 1800s in Georgetown. This undated photograph was taken in Kennedy Funeral Home.
The first annual report issued by the hospital in 1920 showed 549 admitted patients, 469 surgeries and 19 births. The highest occupation of patients included housewives, farmers, clerks, laborers, telephone operators, teachers, cigar makers and electricians.
That first year of patient care and hospital births have since given way to generations of families turning to Mary Rutan Hospital during some of the most significant moments of their lives, Atterholt said.
“One of the favorite parts of my job is seeing parents have their first child, and the way they look at that baby like they can’t believe they just did that,” she said.
Atterholt estimates that she has helped deliver more than 1,000 babies during her career as nurse in the family birth center. She went on to say that she has helped deliver six other babies, whose mom or dad she also helped deliver years earlier.
“I’m getting on that second generation now,” she quipped.
Indeed, nearly every resident of Logan County, and many in surrounding counties, have some affiliation with the hospital, whether by vocation or service.
Read complete story in Saturday’s Examiner.
CLICK HERE to subscribe today!
WEB EDITION STARTING AT $9.50 FOR 5 WEEKS!