WABASH, INDIANA – Sept. 23, 2021 – A century ago, on Sept. 20, 1921, the hospital that would later
evolve into Parkview Wabash Hospital opened a brand-new facility and established a tradition of local,
professional healthcare that endures to this day.
This week, Parkview Wabash co-workers celebrated that 100 th anniversary – and the legacy of
neighbors caring for neighbors.
“This is a proud milestone for all of our co-workers,” said Marilyn Custer-Mitchell, president of Parkview
Wabash Hospital. “It’s particularly significant, I think, that we’ve reached this anniversary during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Decade after decade, we’ve been there for local residents whenever needed, and
an unwavering commitment to quality care and promoting better health remains our mission. In the past
year and a half, we’ve not only provided world-class care for patients in the hospital, but also
volunteered to staff vaccination clinics. In addition, the hospital is involved with many local groups
working to make our community more vital.”
With COVID-19 keeping co-workers occupied with patient care, the anniversary observance could not
be an event-based celebration of the kind the hospital has had in the past.
“We really wanted to be able to share this momentous occasion with the public,” said Custer-Mitchell,
“but it’s just not practical for us to have a large community event right now. Still, we were able to
produce a video in celebration of our anniversary; we’re sharing that with the community on Facebook,
and we hope people will check it out.”
The Parkview Wabash Hospital 100 th Anniversary video was posted Wednesday on Parkview Health’s
Facebook page and website: https://www.parkview.com/community/dashboard/caring-for-wabash-for-
100-years.
A century of care and healing
An early hospital facility, Park Hospital, opened in 1903 as the new 20 th century began, when local
physicians asked the Wabash County commissioners for approval to turn an existing orphanage into a
hospital. By 1914, three physicians leased the building for $25 per year, incorporated Park Hospital and
hired the hospital administrator, Rose Thomas. She also acted as the head nurse, chief gardener,
surgery tech and teacher, educating young women from all over northern Indiana as a means of building
her staff. Her leadership helped to make the fledgling hospital successful.
Following World War I, a petition circulated around Wabash County requesting money to build a larger facility. On Dec. 31, 1919, Park Hospital was turned over to the Wabash County Hospital Board, which
received the equipment and supplies for $975.
The first actual hospital building was located on East Street, on property purchased from J.D. Conner Jr.
Once construction was complete, it would occupy three levels and offer 36 beds for patient care. The
top floor housed two operating rooms, medical rooms (including 10 private rooms) and a ward with a
capacity of six patients. The second floor had 15 private rooms, a reception room, another six-person
ward and a superintendent’s office. Located in the basement were nurses’ private rooms, an employee
recreation room, the boiler room and the engineer’s quarters. All for a cost of $130,000.
The hospital opened on Sept. 20, 1921, with seven full-time nurses. Because nurses came to Wabash
from across the area to work at the new facility, a nurses’ home was built adjacent to the hospital.
Labor and delivery rooms were added in 1937, and the hospital expanded from 36 beds to 60.
The post-World War II era saw significant growth, with periodic bursts of remodeling and construction on
the facility and development of new services for area residents. The ranks of physicians and staff grew.
In 1982, then-Senator Richard Lugar addressed the crowd who came to witness the dedication of what
would end up being the last major addition to the legacy hospital. At the peak of its nearly 100-year
history, the hospital boasted 147 beds.
Decade by decade, healthcare evolved. By the early 1990s, the demand for outpatient services had
grown exponentially in just 10 years. Leaders at the time recognized that the hospital would need to
become “more ‘user-friendly’ and ‘consumer-oriented’ to meet public expectations and to compete
effectively with other healthcare facilities.”
In 2001, the hospital received Critical Access Hospital designation and became licensed for 25 inpatient
beds. The Critical Access Hospital designation was created by Congress in 1997 as a means of keeping
essential services in rural communities. More than 400 rural hospitals had closed during the 1980s and
early ’90s, and the Critical Access Hospital designation aimed to stabilize conditions for some remaining
hospitals providing 24/7 emergency care and located more than 35 miles from another hospital.
In the second decade of the 2000s, the Wabash County Hospital Board of Trustees selected 25 acres
on the south side of U.S. 24 between Alber and Wabash streets to become the site of a new hospital
facility. The board was committed to purchasing the land and completing building plans and would then
“take a step back, look at financing, hospital operations, and feasibility of building a new hospital before
taking additional steps,” said Marilyn Custer-Mitchell at the time.
The next chapter and a new home
Following an 18-month process, county council and commissioners – under the direction of the board of
trustees – approved an affiliation with Parkview Health in 2014. On Jan. 1, 2015, Wabash County
Hospital became Parkview Wabash Hospital. Construction would soon begin on the brand-new, state-of-
the-art hospital facility on John Kissinger Drive. The two-story, 80,000-plus-square-foot hospital and
31,000-square-foot medical office building – boasting the latest medical technology, large birthing suites,
patient-centered design, and local photography by area residents – opened to patients on June 27,
- Just two weeks later, the first baby born at the new hospital arrived on July 12, a sign that the
hospital’s next chapter of service to new generations had truly begun.
The hospital’s history of patient care excellence has continued as Parkview Wabash has garnered
awards and distinctions such as Magnet Recognition ® from the American Nurses Credentialing Center
(ANCC), three annual listings on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Best Places to Work in Indiana
honor roll, and recognition among Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work in Healthcare in 2018 and
2019.
Through a century of change, the people of Parkview Wabash Hospital have provided care for injury and
illness, births and emergencies. They’ve taken care of friends, neighbors, family and strangers through
all kinds of circumstances and volunteered countless hours with local nonprofits, churches, civic events
and professional organizations. With thanks to co-workers past and present for their commitment,
compassion, and professionalism, Parkview Wabash Hospital leaders are optimistic about the future.
“A well-designed, efficient, modern facility is crucial in healthcare,” said Custer-Mitchell, “but caring,
dedicated people who truly take pride in serving the community will always be our most important
resource.”