Salem Hospital: A Century of Service

Salem’s first hospital was organized by local physicians and private citizens, and was funded with $752 raised in a public solicitation. It opened its doors on January 1, 1896. The hospital settled on 10 acres on Center Street, then called Asylum Street, adjacent to the State Hospital.

The Deaconess Hospital, Salem’s second hospital, founded on December 3, 1916, by members of the Mennonite church. The hospital began with 12 beds housed in the old Salem Hotel on Winter Street. By 1936, Salem Deaconess Hospital was expanded to 100 beds.

The hospital was turned over to the Salem community in 1947, a new board of trustees was named and a not-for-profit corporation was formed under the name of Salem Memorial Hospital.

In 1969, Salem Memorial Hospital and Salem General Hospital merged to make better use of buildings, equipment, and personnel – – providing higher quality care and lower costs. All acute care care services were consolidated on Winter Street. The Center Street site was remodeled and expanded in 1989, and again in 2000, to accommodate growing rehabilitation services.

The opening of the hospital’s new five-story Center for Outpatient Medicine in 1999, marks the consolidation of outpatient programs ranging from surgery to radiation Oncology. Skybridges connect the center to the hospital and the parking structure.

In 2000, the not-for-profit community hospital, serves more than 87,000 patients are treated each year in the Emergency and Urgent Care centers, and more than 20,000 patients per year are admitted. Last year, over 3,500 babies were born in our Maternity department. In 2000, the daily room rate remained one of the lowest in the state.

Compiled by Cynthia Harvey and Monica Mersinger

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Bibliography:

A Century of Service, Salem Hospital 1896-1996 by John McMillan

This article originally appeared on the original Salem Online History site and has not been updated since 2006.