Reflections Anderson grows with the community By BILL TUCKER btucker@edwpub.net It’s a chicken and egg thing. Did east-central Madison County grow up around Anderson Hospital, or did Anderson Hospital grow up inside eastcentral Madison County. The answer, which has evolved over the last 35 years, is, of course, yes on both counts. Carved pit of farmland off Route 162 in Maryville, Anderson has emerged as one of the county’s leading health care facilities, providing services to more than 118,000 patients annually. And while the hospital first opened its doors on Jan. 5, 1977, its roots go back more than 50 years when, in 1920, Anna Forberg Cook offered to give the city of Collinsville a site on which to build a hospital. The city was unable to finance the project, but the idea was very much alive. In fact, the city of Edwardsville also attempted to construct a hospital only to find no available financial support. In the ‘40s, both cities tried again. Collinsville entertained a proposal for a township hospital which would be funded through tax dollars, but city leaders voted the idea down. In Edwardsville, a non-profit corporation was formed and a 10-acre site donated. A $300,000 fund drive was launched in 1945, but three years later, only onequarter of the needed funds had been raised and the idea was abandoned.
Collinsville leaders, meanwhile, talked about the possibility of of building J.F.K. Hospital, a satellite of St. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis. A site was purchased and funds were raised, but the idea fell
Both cities made unsuccessful stabs at the project again in the 1960s. Edwardsville attempted a referendum for a tax-supported hospital that failed to get off the ground.
flat again. But those who wanted a hospital in the east-central portion of the county would try again. In 1968, Collinsville and Edwardsville
Anderson Hospital in Maryville, above, as it appears today and, below, a sign erected in the '60s on the site informing the public of the realization of a dream. joined forces to form a steering committee, the Central Madison County Hospital Association. The CMCHA was made up of residents of Collinsville, Edwardsville, Maryville, Troy, Hamel, Glen Carbon and Caseyville. After meetings with many hospital operating agencies, the CMCHA unanimously voted to merge with the St. Clair Hospital Association under the name of the Southwestern Illinois Health Facilities, Inc. in 1969. The proposed hospital would be an affiliate of Christian Welfare Hospital in East St. Louis, which was also operated by the St. Claire Hospital Association. Haney Associates was hired by Southwestern Illinois Health Facilities in 1971 to conduct a fund-raising campaign. The move paid off as the hired guns were able to raise $1 million. Key volunteers in the fundraising campaign were: Frank Flanigan, who served as chairman for Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Hamel, Marine and Troy; William Jokerst of Collinsville, who served as campaign chairman for Collinsville, Caseyville and Maryville; Earle Jukes of Collinsville, who served as the vice chairman of the Collinsville area campaign and Vivian Kraft, who served as general drive chair. By March 1972, $1,774,436.15 had been raised. Work began on the hospital when ground was broken on April 21, 1974. Two-and-a-half years later, the hospital opened its doors and a dream that had been kept alive for more than 50 years had been realized.
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••• Today, Anderson Hospital is the centerpiece of a campus that also includes Physicians Buildings I and II, the Warren Billhartz Cancer Center and other facilities. The hospital itself is a 151-bed acute care medical facility with more than 200 physicians serving on its staff. Keith Page, Anderson’s President and Chief Executive Officers, said he inherited a solid foundation when he arrived 16 years ago. “The hospital was started because there seemed to be a lack of health care in the area. The goal at the beginning, even though the hospital started out small, was that the board of trustees saw that someday the hospital would expand and get larger and continue to add more comprehensive services to better meet the needs of our community.” That vision has served Anderson well over the years and, fortunately, some of the original visionaries are still able to monitor the growth of their project. “We actually still have members on our board that were here when this hospital opened 35 years ago,” Page said. “They do tell me that the people who were involved couldn’t imagine what Anderson Hospital has become. It’s really exceeded their expectations in terms of growth and the array of services that we provide now.” Then, like now, a variety of circumstances are shaping the direction Anderson and other hospitals will take in the future. “There are two forces that are driving health care into the next 10 years,”
Page said. Those forces are the baby boomers, Americans born between 1946 and 1964, and, not surprisingly, the economy. Page said the baby boomers will, like they did with their births, keep hospitals busy for the next several decades. “There’s going to be an increased demand for services and that is going to push the need for health care services even more. That’s one of the forces,” Page said. As demand for serves goes up, so will the amount of money spent on them. “On the other side of the equation. . . our economy has pushed the amount of dollars we are spending on health care services. The word that keeps being said by the federal government is it is a not-sustainable trajectory of growth and expenditures,” Page said. It’s not an ideal combination, but one the health care field will have to work through. “So at the same time we are going to be peaking in terms of the demand for health care services, the payment for health care services, the amount of money the federal government and the country as a whole can spend, has got to be slowed down and reduced.” Page is optimistic solutions will be found because the need will be unavoidable. “Those two things are going to cause some drastic changes in health are and how we manage effective care,” Page said. “The future of health care is positive, but lots of changes are going to occur in the next five to 10 years.” Anderson is a leader in changes, particularly when it comes to employing state-of -the-art technology in improving its health care services. Page rattles off a list of accomplishments the hospital has witnessed over the last 10-plus years including: use of the Da Vinci robotic surgical system, an affiliation with Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, the development of a fourth Urgent Care facility – the newest to open this summer in Bethalto, the Warren Billhartz Cancer Center, two expansions of the obstetrics department, two expansions of the emergency room, an Acute Rehab unit, an expanded surgery unit, expanded cardiology services and the development of the Chest Pain Center. Doctors are quick to credit Page for the way he supports these developments and keeps Anderson at the leading edge of health care. “I am a person that recognizes being able to bring cutting edge technology to our community and that’s what the community expects from a community hospital,” he said. ••• “Integration’ is the buzz word these days in health care and Page said the staff at Anderson is keeping pace with the changes it involves. See "ANDERSON" on Page 2
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