News & Events | Union Hospital Foundation

1/18/2010

The story of Union Hospital has been more than 100 years in the making and that story is now published into a 94 page hardback book. Many of Union Hospital's administrators and historians labored to create a document that chronicles the hospital's rich, interesting and lustrous history and the result of these efforts is a coffee table book entitled "Union Hospital" Distinctive Past...Exceptional Future". The book is the first of its' kind for the hospital. The book's printing was made possible through a generous donation from an anonymous donor.

David R. Doerr, CEO & President of Union Hospital commented on the book's production by saying, "I've always been awed by the deep commitment to community of so many people who have been a part of the Union Hospital story. In fact, much of my adult life has been shaped by those values. When the opportunity to chronicle much of that "story" presented itself and to be able to celebrate the contributions of so many, it seemed only fitting that this book be compiled. I hope everyone enjoys this review of the hospital history as much as we enjoyed the opportunity to put on display the contributions of so many. My personal thanks goes out to all those who gave of their time to make this book as accurate as possible."

The book spans the course of the hospital's history beginning with its founding as the Terre Haute Sanitarium in 1892 by Dr. Benjamin Swafford and Dr. Leo Weinstein and ending with a glimpse into Union's bright future. The chapters cover more than a century of unique opportunities and challenges that have faced Union Hospital. Various chapters highlight the hospital's responses to changing times and local catastrophes such as the pandemic of 1918, The Great Depression, World War II, the train wreck of 1944, the explosion of 1963, the 1970s, and the technological revolution of the 1980s. The book also features former and current hospital leaders such as Sister Johanna Baur, Charles Combs, Elizabeth Evans, Ellen Church, Frances Westrup, Burnita Hershfield, Jack Weinbaum, Joe Mackey, Frank Shelton, Esten Fuson, Dr. Jan Harmening, and current CEO & President, David Doerr. The hospital's positive impact on its surrounding community is also well-documented in chapters chronicling the development of the school of nursing, the founding of Hamilton Center, collaborative partnerships with Ivy Tech, Indiana State, Indiana University, and other Wabash Valley schools, as well as the founding of Union Hospital Foundation. Renowned departments such as Maternal Health, the state's first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Hux Cardiovascular Center, and Hux Cancer Center are also featured.

The author of the book, Dan Miller, did much of the initial legwork for this project, spending numerous hours conducting extensive research in the hospital's archives. Miller, who launched his own company, Historical Solutions LLC, in 2004, was hired by Union Hospital to begin the project in the summer of 2008. He gathered decades of information not only from the available hospital archives, but also through interviews with past and present employees, board members and community members.

The book's contributing writers and editors Bonne Conatser, Marilyn Harney and Norma Shaw also spent countless hours in the hospital's archives. Conatser, Harney and Shaw are all alums of the hospital's nursing school as well as former employees of Union Hospital. Having served Union Hospital for years, each of them was anxious to finally share stories from it's distinctive past with others. "The Union Hospital history book is a dream come true for [us]." said Shaw, the former Director of Surgical Services. "Our love for and dedication to Union Hospital for over fifty years evolved into a publication we are proud to display to the community. It was fun walking down memory lane while searching for just the right picture from the archives for all of the different stories." Conatser, Harney and Shaw continue to serve the hospital in volunteer roles.

"Union Hospital: Distinctive Past...Exceptional Future" was published by Union Hospital Foundation and packaged by local publishing company, Wish Publishing. The company, owned by Holly Kondras, previously specialized in publishing women's sports titles and recently expanded its services to include editing, designing and producing works for others clients. While Kondras had previously worked on a coffee table book, this book was the first that Wish packaged as an independent company. "I was honored to have been selected to work on this project," said Kondras. "I am so proud of the book and everyone who worked diligently to make it happen."

The mission of Union Hospital Foundation is to support advances in medical care that benefit the patients served by Union Hospital and initiatives that promote the health and wellness for those residents who live in the Wabash Valley. The Foundation fulfills this mission by raising charitable gifts and grants, providing effective stewardship for gifts received and awarding grants to Union Hospital and to select other organizations through which improvements in medical care and community health are realized. The Union Hospital Foundation receives charitable support from individuals, corporations, foundations and organizations who share the Foundation's vision for a healthy, vital community.

For further inforation, please contact Jackie Gustafson, Director of Development for Union Hospital Foundation, at 812.238.7534 or via e-mail at jmgustafson@uhhg.org.