Pacific Christian Hospital
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Pacific Christian Hospital was opened by Eugene Bible University (EBU) and International Bible Mission (IBM) at E. 12th Street and Hilyard Street in Eugene, Oregon on March 17, 1924. The person behind this enterprise was Eugene Claremont Sanderson, who founded Eugene Divinity School (EDS) in 1895 across Alder street from the hospital.[1]
EDS and EBU are now known as Northwest Christian University. The original hospital building is long gone, but the facility is now known as PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District, in the same location.
Need and Construction
There was a dire need for a good medical facility in Eugene in the early 1920s. Local citizens, because of Sanderson’s reputation, looked to him to develop such a facility. In 1922, the EBU Board of Trustees authorized him to erect the hospital and conduct a fund raising campaign. Construction of the six-story building began in February 1923 and it was dedicated on March 16, 1924. The facility cost about $225,000 to build.[2]
Organization
In March 1928, Pacific Christian Hospital was incorporated as a separate entity, but it was still financially tied to EBU and IBM. It was composed of three institutions: the hospital itself; the former Catholic-run Mercy Christian Hospital on College Hill in Eugene which was purchased in 1927 and rededicated to sanitarium work; and a hospital in Dodge City, Kansas which had exhausted its funds and was turned over to IBM in 1928. The other two facilities are long since closed.
A School for Nurses at EBU was an integral part of the operation of the facility. A three-year program resulted in a degree as a Registered Nurse from EBU. The first class was admitted in 1925 and graduated in 1927 The last class graduated in 1929 with the remaining students transferring to hospitals in Portland, Oregon. Average class size was about 10.[3]
Dissolution and Transfer
During the Great Depression, EBU and IBM found themselves overextended and needed to scale back operations to just the Eugene campus. Creditors had foreclosed on the hospital and a group of local doctors agreed to temporarily manage it until a buyer could be found. Thus, the hospital was sold to the Catholic order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Newark for $50,000. It reopened on July 1, 1936 as Sacred Heart General Hospital with 75 beds and a staff of 35.[4] It was the main hospital in Eugene until Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend was opened in neighboring Springfield, Oregon in 2008.
References
- ^ Griffeth, Ross J. Crusaders for Christ. Eugene, OR: Shelton-Turnbull, Inc., 1971.
- ^ Goodrich, Martha A. History of Northwest Christian College. Eugene, OR: unpublished MA thesis, University of Oregon, 1949.
- ^ Sellard, Dan. Reunion gives former nurses a booster shot of memories. Eugene Register-Guard, June 20, 1982, page 3F.
- ^ Rojas-Burke, Joe. Hospital’s history key to its dual image. The Register Guard, July 21, 1996, pages B1 & B3.