The story of St. Joseph Memorial Hospital began in the 1930's when a group of laymen and church leaders decided that the town of Larned should be the site of a modern healthcare facility. With the approach of World War II, the project was temporarily abandoned, but not forgotten.
In October 1944, the Larned Chamber of Commerce appointed a hospital committee for the purpose of planning the hospital building. In December 1944, the Community Hospital Committee was formally incorporated and still continues its promotion and support of St. Joseph Hospital.
Six years of difficult and sometimes frustrating work by the hospital committee came to fruition when the ground was broken for the new hospital on Monday, July 11, 1949. The hospital was named St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in honor of our country’s veterans of war. The $800,000 hospital was dedicated by Bishop Mark K. Carroll on April 23, 1951 and was open to receive patients the following day.
By the 1960's the need for additional space was evident. The hospital committee worked throughout 1965 on plans for a major addition to the hospital. The addition was designed to include space for a meeting area, a solarium, living quarters for the Sisters and a new chapel. The plans also called for a full basement to be used as a storage area. Even with the new addition, St. Joseph Memorial Hospital continued to weather financial difficulties. In 1988, after considerable investigation, Central Kansas Medical Center and St. Joseph Memorial Hospital merged to become one corporate structure called Central Kansas Medical Center. This union was necessary to improve operating effectiveness in both Pawnee and Barton Counties.
St. Joseph Memorial Hospital's services continue to grow with the hospital. Our top priority remains providing high quality healthcare in a cost-efficient manner.
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