1921
Lawrence Memorial Hospital
Lawrence Memorial Hospital was an idea that grew from a righteous cause. In the early 1900s, a story was told about a doctor who had been called to attend an old African American man who had fallen in a fit on the sidewalk near the Eldridge Hotel. At the time, Lawrence was served by three small private hospitals owned by physicians, but none of them had a charity bed available. The doctor tried to find someone who might know the man, but to no avail, before the man died.
There was no publicly owned hospital in Lawrence, where needy poor could be taken for treatment in care. In 1919, the Social Service League bought a frame house at 3rd and Maine Sts., and through a trust agreement gave it to the city for a hospital. An appeal was made for funds to repair and equip the building. About $10,000 was raised. Lawrence Memorial Hospital opened for business Jan. 17, 1921.
During the 1920s, the community increasingly depended upon LMH and the facilities became inadequate. Elizabeth Miller Watkins offered to give $200,000 to build a new hospital, and in 1929, a new brick building with 50 beds opened, becoming the pride of the community. Additions funded by Mrs. Watkins and federal programs expanded the hospital and added capacity over the years. In 2004, Lawrence Memorial Hospital serves Lawrence and surrounding communities, including practices in Eudora, Baldwin City and Tonganoxie. The hospital was named with a Kansas Excellence Award for Quality in 2003.
Today, LMH is a not-for-profit, city-owned hospital, which serves members of the community, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. LMH invests all excess revenues into services, equipment and facilities to further its mission to improve the health of the community.
While buildings and equipment are necessary to the provision of quality medical care, it is the vision and foresight of good people like Mrs. Watkins and others who built the community foundation on which LMH has grown. Their commitment serves today as an inspiration for the future.
Step Sponsored By: Lawrence Memorial Hospital