United Hospital District

Description

About Us
At United Hospital District our group of skilled and committed physicians physician assistants and nurse practitioners provide you and your family the highest level of healthcare close to you

Whether youre expecting a baby dealing with a complex medical condition or anything in between you dont have to travel to get the quality health care you want and need United Hospital District and Clinics have the people stateoftheart technology and experience you can trust At United Hospital District we have a full range of medical services that are right for you and your family With locations in Blue Earth Wells and Winnebago our four convenient locations are staffed by a network of skilled physicians certified physician assistants nurses and staff members who deliver the very best in primary and specialty care Not only are they committed to providing the highestquality medical care but they strive to develop a personalized longterm relationship with you close to home UHD committed to care committed to you

Mission and Values
At United Hospital District we exist to provide and promote appropriate health care to the communities we serve doing so in a safe and healing environment which supports our patient centered care philosophy

History

Although United Hospital District UHD has been in existence as a district hospital under Minnesota statutes since 1966 the history of the organization has been traced back as far as 1886 On April 21st of that year Dr G I Smart purchased a house at the corner of Moore and East 6th Street in Blue Earth and operated Smart Hospital from this location until 1909 During this same time period Dr F N Hunt purchased a house at 209 West 5th Street operating a hospital there until 1908 The Mayo brothers reportedly performed laparotomies abdomen is opened and explored for examination at this facility while it was open

On August 22 1908 Dr Hunt purchased a larger home at 209 West 6th Street and transformed it into a new Hunt Hospital The Hunt Hospital was sold to the family of Dr Wilson on May 13 1913 for 4700 The facility was renamed Wilson Hospital and accommodated patients in 13 beds Dr Wilson operated the hospital for 30 years

The first committees to explore the feasibility of a community hospital were formed in June of 1945 By the fall of that year a fund drive began to raise the 150000 needed for a new 30 bed facility

Wilson Hospital closed on December 4 1946 In response to the closing the Blue Earth City Council drew up an ordinance creating a board to operate the hospital Meanwhile the estimated costs to build a new facility had risen to 355000 Donations from the community totaled 105000 These funds would be combined with 118000 from the HillBurton Act and 132000 in bonds to proceed with construction

In March of 1949 construction bids totaling 380258 were accepted and ground was broken in April for Community Memorial Hospital An open house for the 32 bed facility was held on September 24 1950 Final Cost 475000

In 1966 legislators in Minnesota created special taxing districts for the formation of hospital districts United Hospital District quota municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Minnesota under Minnesota Statute 44731quot was created out of this legislation on December 12 1966 and ownership was transferred from the City of Blue Earth to the special district on January 25 1967 The original district was comprised of 14 communities and townships within Faribault county In addition to the Blue Earth campus an existing hospital in Winnebago was also part of the newly formed district

The new Governing Board determined an expansion was necessary at the Blue Earth location and property adjacent to the existing location was cleared for this expansion in the summer of 1968 Construction was completed and an open house for the new hospital building was held in January 1971 Just before the open house UHD received its first successful accreditation by the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation an accreditation UHD continues to hold

The Winnebago hospital site was closed on August 3 1977 and both the Village of Winnebago and City of Winnebago City Township subsequently withdrew from the District on February 29 1980 On November 14 1981 the Winnebago facility reopened as Fountain Lake Adolescent Treatment Center

Meanwhile the Blue Earth facility continued to expand and groundbreaking for additional patient care areas including a new special care unit was held in November 1982 with an open house for the new addition two years later in October 1984

Fundraising for hospital activities was given a boost in 1990 with the formation of the UHD Foundation in June

Expansion of services continued in March of 1993 with a dedication ceremony for UHDs first inhouse CT unit

Major renovation of the facilities Emergency Room Outpatient Services and Rehab Therapy areas and the addition of a new Same Day Surgery center commenced with a groundbreaking in July 1999 The open house for the completion of this project was held in October 2000 Final cost 42 Million

Another renovation project this time focusing on UHDs inpatient rooms laboratory and addition of a third operating room began with a ground breaking ceremony in April 2003 More information on this project can be found under the quotconstruction updatequot area of this website Estimated Cost 41 Million