North Valley Hospital

Description

Mission
To be the center of healing for the communities we serve

Vision
To collectively serve as a catalyst for
healing of the mind body and spirit in a
patientcentered environment and to commit
to stewardship of healthcare resources
in order to continually improve the health
of the communities we serve

We value
Patients and their families as partners in healthcare who
require our professionalism
confidentiality and attention to individual needs

Caring Behaviors that exhibit integrity respect and
Commitment to creating a
lifeenhancing and healing environment

Teamwork with open communication and participation
dedicated to furthering a shared vision

Leadership from our Hospital and Foundation Boards medical
and hospital staff
patients and communities
that exemplifies flexibility innovation and support

History

North Valley Hospital History

19051947
Whitefishs first hospital stood on the southwest corner of Spokane and Fourth Street This hospital opened its doors to those needing medical attention in 1905 with a staff of two nurses and a Great Northern Railway physician Dr Hugh E Houston The railway employees provided much of the hospitals clientele in the early days Ownership of the hospital was transferred to Mr amp Mrs Peter Gutensohn and to Mrs JA Sampson in 1912 who operated the hospital until 1923 when it was converted to an apartment house Whitefish was without a hospital until 1936 when the building was converted back to a hospital by Mrs JA Earhart In 1941 Dr Edith Boyd bought the hospital and operated it until 1947

19471970
The second hospital site was at Park Avenue and Sixth Street Dr John B Simons who began his practice in Whitefish in 1937 opened a hospital bearing his name in 1947 with 80000 from private sources and the Federal Reconstruction Finance Corp Miss Edna Stokes was the first superintendent of this hospital Dr Simons sold his interest in the hospital to a civic board and the hospital was renamed Whitefish Memorial Hospital in 1961

Plans for a new facility began in 1964 Extensive fundraising spearheaded by Whitney Smith the hospital board chairman produced 600000 in valley funds a 400000 federal grant and 1 million worth of bonds In June 1969 ground was broken for the third and current hospital building on Hwy 93

1970Present
The present North Valley Hospital opened on July 241971 with Olga Torgerson as Administrator until October 1971 when Burl Hatfield was appointed to that position Mr Hatfield was succeeded by Dale Jessup in January 1976

The hospital expanded in 1975 with the addition of a 1325 million 56bed Extended Care Center funded entirely by bond sales In 1988 a construction and remodeling project was completed that provided more space for many departments North Valley Hospital serves a current North Valley population of close to 20000 including the cities of Whitefish and Columbia Falls as well as the Canyon communities and the several small towns along the Burlington Northern line to Eureka

North Valley Hospital is a communitybased nonprofit corporation established for the purpose of providing quality accessible and affordable acute general hospital care and other health services to the North Valley service area North Valley Hospital operates under the authority and responsibility of a Board of Directors The twelve directors are selected from the communities of the North Valley and voluntarily contribute their skills and knowledge to the hospital

Since 1990 Quorum Health Resources has had a management contract with North Valley Hospital Marcel Loh served as Chief Executive Officer from 19901994 and Kenneth Platou from 19942000 Craig Aasved has served in this administrative capacity since 2000

In May 1993 construction began for a Medical Office Building just north of the existing hospital The 18792 square foot building houses three 3 medical clinics and the hospitals RehabilitationSports Medicine Clinic

A New Century A New Way of Healthcare
In 2000 it became clear that the present facility and capital equipment were no longer able to keep up with an increasing number of patients as well as advances in the delivery of healthcare In 2002 the hospital Board of Trustees made the decision to build a new hospital In May 2003 North Valley Hospital with financial support from the North Valley Hospital Foundation purchased 45 acres for the construction of a replacement hospital just northeast of where US Highway 93 intersects with US Highway 40 on the southern edge of Whitefish

The 84000 square foot size will be adequate to support the planned service requirements The services will emphasize family medicine internal medicine pediatrics outpatient and inpatient surgery orthopedic surgery emergency services obstetrics and other primary and secondary services for which sufficient patient volume exists to provide the services efficiently and effectively with high quality

Adoption of the Planetree model is designed to help develop a stable and increasing market niche for North Valley Hospital that will emphasize personalized quality services and attract increasing numbers of residents of North Valley communities and the Flathead Valley generally

Groundbreaking took place in May 2005 and the new facility opened its doors at 1600 Hospital Way on March 22 2007