MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE NIKS
pro
n
Sunday, October 30, 1953
I
, ''f.A ' j - - t I I
It May Be YOU
ONE person in EIGHT and ONE fam
ily in THREE in this area will need a
hospital bed this year.
The people of Rogue Valley area critically need additional hospital
protection. The problem is . . . shall we make this area a safe place in
which to live, or shall we, with lack of adequate modern hospital facili
ties, continue to gamble the lives of the people by trusting to luck?
The Hospital (Problem is a :Cbminuhit
Problem . . .The Community is
YOU
TTIHIffi MEIEI1D .
Over 63,000 Residents of Jackson County Face a
Dangerous Shortage of Modern
Hospital Facilities
The Oregon State Plan for Hospital Construction (1955 Report Classifies
the Hospital Needs of Jackson County as Follows):
Total bed needs 300
The present "Acceptable Beds" 104
"Acceptable" beds to be constructed.... 196
. 'ACCEPTABLE" BEDS-DATA -JACKSON COUNTY
TOTAL N EED ED-300 BEDS
EXISTING BEDS 104 PRESENT SHORTAGE -196 BEDS
35-7 65.3
A hospital is classed as "NON-ACCEPTABLE" when the building does not conform with the Oregon
Uniform Construction Code for hospitals, and when it does not lend itself to correction.
The present "Acceptable" Beds in Jackson County are:
Rogue Valley Memorial Hospital 31
Sacred Heart Hospital 100. 73
Total Acceptable Beds 104
A NEW HOPITAL MUST BE BUILT
Surveys of the State and Federal Departments
for the Construction of Hospitals, consultants
and advisors, and local committees all agree
, that the present Rogue Valley Memorial hospital
(Community Hospital) must be replaced by a
modern well-equipped building at a new lo
cation. Great credit should be given the Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce for Its APPRAISAL OF
NEEDS FOR ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL FACILITIES
(December, 1954) prepared by the well-known
Stanford Research Institute.
The following excerpt is from its report:
"To meet Jackson County's need for expanding
hospital facilities, the most feasible solution is to
replace Medford Community Hospital" (now
Rogue Valley Memorial) "with an outstanding
new unit at a new location. A well-designed
new hospital will mean greater efficiency of
operation and broader medical care, and this in
turn will stimulate interest in Jackson County
as a Medical Center."
ESTIMATED COST
Building (78 Beds), Equipment, etc !..$!, 900,000
FUNDS AVAILABLE: ,
Federal Aid (Hill-Burton) . $586,000
Pre-Campaign Subscriptions ... 600,000 1,186,000
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVE $ 714,000
WE MUST ACT NOW
Through the generosity of several citizens and a grant by the Federal Government FOR A LIMITED
PERIOD -$1,186,000 is NOW AVAILABLE for the new hospital. IF THE COMMUNITY SUBSCRIBES
$714,000 it can obtain A HOSPITAL VALUED AT $1,900,000.
PROVIDING AMPLE PROTECTION IS A COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY WHICH x MEANS YOUR
OBLIGATION!
Ml
jacksou county a
(DIFMCDIim
Preserving LIFE and HEALTH Should Be The FIRST
CONCERN of a Progressive Community
In February, 1936, Phyllis Swearingen (now de
ceased) and Mabel Coffeen purchased the property
which they operated as the Community Hospital. The
title was in the name of Medford Hospital Association,
Inc., a nonprofit Oregon corporation. Its articles pro
vided: "All of the surplus revenues and earnings
shall be applied to and expended for hospi
tals and lands, buildings and equipment
acquired for hospital purposes, and for the
care of the sick and infirm who are unable to
pay for such services, and no dividends shall
ever be declared."
The original incorporators of the hospital were Phyllis
Swearingen, A. S. V. Carpenter and Ernest S. Bartlam.
Miss Swearingen was the administrator until her death
in May, 1948. Mr. Carpenter has been a member of the
Board of Directors since the organization of the, hospital.
After the death of Miss Swearingen, a number of the
citizens of the community contributed to a fund to pur
chase her interest in the corporation for an amount
equal to her original investment and also to purchase
from Miss Coffeen her interest on the same basis. The
ownership and operation of the hospital was then trans
ferred to the Diocese of Oregon of the Protestant Epis
copal Church and was so operated until November 29,
1954.
At that time the articles of incorporation were
amended to eliminate the capital stock of the corpora
tion and ta provide:
"No part of the earnings of this corporation
shall inure to the benefit of any member of
this corporation or of any other individual."
(The foregoing shall not be amended.)
"The provisions relating to the use and dis
bursement of the corporation's funds exclu
sively for charitable, scientific or educational
purposes shall not be amended to permit the
use for disbursement of said funds for any
other purposes."
Many citizens have served or now serve ph the non
sectarian Board of Directors and have contributed
generously of their time, ability and money.
The present hospital has 59 beds in a two-story con
verted frame residence joined to a four-story hospital
building of wood frame construction with a concrete
exterior. '
: Although greatly hampered by the inadequate facili
ties of this building excellent service has been given to
the residents of Jackson County and surrounding area.
This has been accomplished through superior manage
ment and the loyal co-operation of its Board of Diree-,
tors, medical staff and nurses.
For several years your Board of Directors and the
community have realized the inadequacy of the facili
ties of this hospital. In the fall of 1954 Mr. and Mrs.
A. S. V. Carpenter and Mr. John R. Tomlin agreed to
make very substatinal contributions for a new hospital.
Dr. I. D. Phipps, (ongtime resident, gave five acres of
the present 20 acre site on Barnett and Murphy roads.
After an extensive survey of the hospital needs of
this county and consultation with health authorities, the
Board of Directors and Advisory Committees found that
a new 78 bed hospital in another location must be built
at once to replace the Rogue Valley Memorial Hospital
(Medford Community Hospital).
It is estimated that the total cost of the hospital and
equipment will be $1 ,900,000. Of this amount approx
imately $586,000 is anticipated from Federal aid"
Hill-Burton funds. About $600,000 has already been
contributed by generous citizens. This leaves a little
more than one-third of the cost, $714,000, to be sub
scribed by the community.
. The present hospital building and land will be sold
and the proceeds added to the building fund. The use
able equipment will be transferred to the new hospital.
The control of this non-profit corporation, according
to its by-laws, is vested in a board of twenty directors
representing - a cross-section of the community reli
gious, political, and eocnomic. These twenty directors
who now constitute the board shall continue to hold
office until the annual election in November of 1957.
At that time the terms of office of four of the directors
.shall expire. Two of the directors shall be elected by the
members of the corporation; one shall be appointed by
the Vestry of St. Mark's Parish of Medford, Oregon;
and one shall be appointed by the Protestant Episcopal
Bishop of Oregon. The four directors so to be elected
and appointed shall serve for a period of five years
each. At each annual meeting thereafter four additional
directors shall be elected and appointed for terms of
five years each in the same manner to fill the positions
of the four directors whose terms of office shall expire.
Remember that this is A COMMUNITY - OWNED
HOSPITAL and the BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL AL
XWAYS CONTROL THE MANAGEMENT. It is and will
be our community-owned hospital.
The problem of the FINANCING IS A COMMUNITY
RESPONSIBILITY. A large organization of volunteer
workers is being formed to raise money which, together
with funds already in hand and to be received from the
Hill-Burton funds, is necessary to build the new hospital.
PLEASE WELCOME AND COOPERATE WITH THESE
VOLUNTEER WORKERS. They are donating their time
and solicit you, knowing that you jre vitally interested
in hospital protection for your family, yourself and the
people who live in Jackson County and Southern
" Oregon.
The solgan of tjie campaign is "IT CAN BE DONE."
This will be true if each person subscribes to the best
of his ability and does it NOW. The money you give
WILL SAVE LIVES -perhaps SOME DAY YOUR OWN.
Rogue Valley Memorial
Hospital Campaign Organization
OTTO J. FROHNMAYER
General Chairman of Campaign.
EUGENE D. THORNDIKE, Chairman
Advance Gifts Committee
; WALTER G. GARNER, Chairman
General Organization
SMFE
PLACE
U ttHICH' Tl LWE!