12/23/2009:
The Carrington Hospital Association was chartered on this date in 1915 in Carrington, North Dakota. Although the city of Carrington had been growing since the arrival of the Northern Pacific railroad in 1882, no medical facilities existed, and those needing a doctor were forced to travel nearly fifty miles to Jamestown.
The area around Carrington was not opened for homesteading until March of 1883, but it had already secured enough residents by September of that year for Governor Ordway to approve the its organization into a county of Dakota Territory. Carrington, or the Central City as it became later known, became the county seat of Foster County. Between 1900 and 1920, Carrington's population increased nearly thirty-one percent. It was therefore no surprise, that by 1915, a hospital was needed.
The original Carrington Hospital was erected quickly after the chartering of the association, opening on November 22, 1916. With core values of compassion, reverence, integrity, and excellence, the hospital answered the needs of the local community. In 1941, the hospital was leased to the Presentation Sisters of Fargo, who took over management. The Presentation Sisters are a congregation of Catholic Women out of Fargo who serve to promote peace and justice through different initiatives, including health care.
In 1943, a larger hospital became necessary, but wartime conditions made improvements impossible. Finally, in 1956, a new building was dedicated to house the hospital's administration, pharmacy, physical therapy, and home health rooms. A nursing home was built in 1964, and merged with the hospital in 1980. In 1986, a modern five-million dollar hospital was built. Today, it's part of the Carrington Health Center, along with the clinic and nursing home. As a federally-designated provider-based rural health clinic, it continues to serve the central area of the state, much as it has since its inception ninety-four years ago.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
http://www.auxiliarynews.org/carringtonhospital.htm
http://www.carringtonnd.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={97327465-BA8C-4542-9969-BF4071DB3D40}
http://www.webfamilytree.com/Foster_County_Centennial/the_origins_of_foster_county.htm
http://www.time-passages.com/1900_nd_foster.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington,_North_Dakota
http://www.presentationsistersfargo.com/Who_We_Are/who_we_are.html