Benson Hospital

History

History
Benson Hospitals 35th anniversary was Marked on July 15 2005 at its present location The original clinichospital was privately owned by James Hesser MD who in 1960 retired and sold it to the Kartchner family In 1963 the building was purchased from the Kartchners by the newlyformed San Pedro Valley Hospital District In April 1966 plans began for the new facility at its present location The Benson Public Library was built on the site of the old hospital and has undergone a major expansion

Mr and Mrs WJ Getzwiller of Benson donated ten acres of land on a rise with a spectacular view of the Dragoon Mountains to the east for the site of the present hospital In June 1969 a contract was signed for construction of a new 22 bed hospital On July 4 the same year ground was broken and construction began A number of difficulties with the development and construction an unfortunate truckers strike and skyrocketing prices causing many revisions delayed the timely opening of the facility At last in early July 1970 the Benson Hospital was opened to receive patients

An Open House was held on July 4 1970 with guided tours conducted by Mrs Beatrice Jamison Administrator and Ruth Allen President of the San Pedro Valley Hospital District Mrs Allen is credited for her tireless efforts in making the new hospital a reality

Almost immediately filming of the movie quotRagequot starring George C Scott and Richard Basehart took place in the Benson area Much of the movie was shot in the new Benson Hospital Some of the staff were used as extras The movie is still available on video and gives an interesting view of Benson back in 1970

What started as a small community hospital meeting the simple needs of the patients of this southeastern Arizona area has grown to care for an overwhelming Emergency Room use in part due to three major highways junctions in Benson Interstate 10 State Highway 80 and State Highway 90 With the influx of hundreds of winter visitors and many new permanent residents outpatient use in laboratory radiology and rehabilitation have increased dramatically As the area develops over the next few years the Hospital Strategic Plan is a toppriority

Ground was broken and construction completed for the new emergency department It was expand to accommodate 8 beds secured admitting CT scans isolation room with separate entrance and urgent care unit It has been well used since its opening and is accommodating the community and travelers with a 24 hour on duty physician well trained staff and ancillary services

On July 7 2010 the new WalkIn Clinic had its grand opening and began to see patients on a walkin basis as well as same day appointments Tony Ramirez MD is the director A native of Tucson who graduated from the University of Arizona Medical School Dr Ramirez is a boardcertified family practice physician He previously worked at a thriving Community Health Center

Dr Ramirez is also a clinical assistant professor for the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and loves teaching His hope is to utilize his knowledge skills and abilities to expand the current and future delivery of health services to the population of this great Benson Community