by Emily Buckley, editor-in-chief
A century ago local physicians and businessmen worked tirelessly raising money to fund construction of a hospital through the buying and selling of shares on which they knew they would never receive dividends. They weren’t investing in their own financial future, but rather in the community they loved. “The opening of the Utah-Idaho Hospital in 1914 was really the birth of not-for-profit healthcare in Cache Valley,” said Tina Murray, communications specialist at Intermountain Logan Regional Hospital.
The three-floor, 60-bed Utah-Idaho Hospital, which stood on the corner of 200 North and 300 East in Logan, was a major milestone for the community. Although there had been private residences transformed into hospitals for a decade before, this facility was the first modern hospital built from the ground of for the primary purpose of being a hospital. It had many modern conveniences such as operating rooms, x-ray, classrooms, business offices, a hand-operated elevator, and kitchen and laundry facilities.
In 1925 the Utah-Idaho hospital was expanded and became the William Budge Memorial Hospital. According to the story of the Budge Clinic by J. Clare Hayward, M.D., the first baby delivered in a hospital in Logan was born that year.
In 1948, the LDS Church acquired Budge Memorial Hospital as part of the church’s health system. The hospital’s name was changed to Logan LDS Hospital until 1975, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned it over to Intermountain Healthcare and it was renamed Logan Hospital. By the end of the decade construction began on a new facility, and in 1980 Intermountain Logan Regional Hospital opened in its current location on 1400 North.
“Throughout the past century, access to improved technology, expanded services, and a broadened range of specialists has distinctly changed and enhanced the quality of healthcare the valley’s residents enjoy today,” said Murray.
“While a lot has changed, the overall mission established by visionaries in the early 1900s — to provide the best available medical care following a not-for-profit model of delivery — has not changed. This same vision is effectively being carried out at Logan Regional Hospital 100 years later.”
Celebrate with Logan Regional Hospital
Throughout 2014, Logan Regional Hospital has been celebrating its 100-year history with everything from a signature ice cream flavor called Centennial Scoop, created by Charlie’s Ice Cream, to internal events and community education about the history and a breast cancer awareness event earlier this month.
They invite the community to join the celebration at a 100 Year Gala on
November 5, at the Riverwoods Conference Center featuring performer Alex Boyé and the implementation of an awards program honoring individuals who have impacted healthcare in Cache Valley.
Recipients of the 2014 awards:
Dr. Merrill and Betty Daines
Lifetime Achievement Award
William Budge Family
Healthcare Excellence Award
Lorraine Liechty Olsen
Distinguished Service Award
Proceeds from the gala will be used to expand services at the Cache Valley Community Health Clinic.
For tickets and more information visit www.LRH100YearGala.eventbrite.com.
School children, from kindergarten through 5th-grade are also invited to celebrate by participating in an art and writing contest titled, “Hospitals Now and in the Future.”
Students may use their imaginations to draw a picture of or write a short story about the hospital or the people who work in the hospital, and how they have helped the student or members of the community that the student knows.
Winners will be chosen for writing and art categories and within age groups, and will be professionally displayed at Logan Regional Hospital.
