---

Description

---

Quality Health Care Close to Home
Rusk County Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home is a Critical Assess Hospital located in Ladysmith WI along the beautiful Flambeau River We are here to provide the residents and visitors of Rusk County and surrounding communities with outstanding health care and a friendly close to home atmosphere

Mission Statement
The Mission of Rusk County Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home is

To provide a broad range of high quality primary acute medical care
services that will meet most of the health care needs of the people of Rusk
County and the adjoining area

To provide skilled geriatric nursing care with a full range of medical
services available in the nursing home

To promote public wellness and the prevention of illness and discomfort
through the education and continued learning of our populace

To provide assistance and encouragement for health care outreach to our
populace through cooperation and collaboration on a range of social
services chemical dependency counseling and public home health nursing
services

To provide attractive and wholesome working conditions competitive
compensation levels and open communications to encourage the employment and
retention of competent and enthusiastic employees

To provide educational experiences for health care personnel in a clinical
setting

To maintain an open relationship with its medical staff to insure an
effective utilization of its resources and an inflow of physicians

To provide an environment that welcomes the clergy of all faiths to minister
to the patients needs

To maintain as a nonprofit organization an economically viable operation
through astute stewardship and vigorous cost containment

---

History

---

Hospital History
In 1909 a group of local businessmen known as the Commercial Club of Ladysmith determined the need for a hospital to serve the growing communitys citizens They began collecting money and appealed to the Catholic Bishop of Superior to find Sisters to staff the proposed hospital and In 1909 the Commercial Club gifted ten acres to Catholic Sisters provided that they build a hospital

However the Commercial Club faced a number of roadblocks that temporarily hampered their efforts Among them was the fact that there were no Catholic Sisters in Ladysmith in 1909 and thus the Catholic Bishop would not approve the gift and project proposal at that time

The Servants of Mary Sisters arrived in Ladysmith on September 19 1912 to staff the new St Marys Parochial School The following year the residents of Ladysmith spoke with the Sisters about the need for a hospital

In 1914 five acres of land on which the current hospital sits was obtained through a donation by John Lindoo However it was not until 1917 that the Articles of Incorporation were drawn and the work of raising funds began A hospital fundraising committee was created and members included Mr H Ballou Treasurer and local Manager of the Menasha Paper Co Mr F I Hughes President of the State Bank of Glen Flora and Mr R M Sensenbrenner Secretary of the Menasha Paper Co Construction of the hospital building began on June 13 1917 and the new facility was dedicated on June 5 1918

The first administrators of the hospital were Sister Mary Alphonse President Sister Mary Boniface Maintenance and Miss Catherine Mackin RN Director of Nurses Father Andrew Bauman attended to the spiritual care of the sick The medical staff consisted of Doctor Bugher Doctor Lundmark Doctor OConnor Doctor Ross and Doctor Stephenson all of Ladysmith Doctor Johnson of Bruce and Doctor Davin of Weyerhauser

During the flu epidemic of 1918 the staff did admirable work in caring for the sick Rusk County raised funds to remodel the porches on each end of the hospital to care for isolation patients

During the 1940s one had only to walk through the crowded halls to realize the need for more space Thus in 1947 an addition to the hospital increased its capacity to 75 beds plus a nursery Improvements in other facilities especially Maternity Operating Room Xray and Laboratory Departments were made at this time as well

In 1953 a new kitchen and a meeting room were added In 1965 a fifty bed nursing home was built next door to the hospital with facilities for a larger and improved laundry and central heating plant

In September of 1973 Rusk County purchased St Marys Hospital and St Josephs on the Flambeau The original hospital structure could not be approved for fire and safety standards and the Sisters were unable to finance reconstruction After the purchase the county tore down a portion of the 1917 structure and erected a new building adjacent to the Nursing Home

The dedication of the new facility took place on May 9 1976 A large number of area residents attended the dedication ceremony and toured the new facility These events culminated almost three years to retain a hospital in the Ladysmith area

In the late 1970s and early 80s RCMH amp NH began offering orthopedic outpatient surgical procedures through Dr Peter Ihle This service has since grown tremendously to include a wide range of medical specialties

The Cardiac Rehabilitation department was created in 1994 to meet the needs of the community

In March of 2003 Rusk County Memorial Hospital obtained the designation of being a Critical Access Hospital This CAH status ensured area residents access to sustainable quality health services by improving the financial performance of the hospital

In 2006 the Imaging department became the first site in the state to offer 100 Fuji filmless technology for all radiology imaging including general radiology mammography CT ultrasound nuclear medicine and MRI studies

A new cardiac telemetry monitoring system was installed in the Intensive Care Unit and added to Cardiac Rehab the Emergency Room and the MedicalSurgical Unit in the summer of 2007