Important Events for William Newton Hospital

• 1924 - Entrepreneur William Newton dies at the age of 82 leaving to the City of Winfield property and other assets to be used for a public hospital.
• 1926 - Construction began on the new three story, 52-bed hospital. The original building remains solid and has been improved through several additions and upgrades.
• 1927 - William Newton Memorial Hospital (now doing business as William Newton Hospital) was dedicated on February 25 and the first patient admitted on March 4.
• 1928 - The WNMH School of Nursing was organized to assure that skilled nurses were locally available. The school closed in in the late 1960's and St. John's College began a nursing program. When St. John's closed in the late 1980's, Southwestern College organized a four-year program.
• 1933 - The WNH Auxiliary was organized. The Auxiliary remains a source of pride for the hospital, as well as a critical volunteer and financial resource. The organization has achieved the Kansas hospital Association's Gold Award annually as long as anyone can remember.
• 1945 - Due to overcrowding and nursing shortages at WNH and St. Mary's Hospital, the City of Winfield began to plan for expanding healthcare facilities.
• 1947 - Virginia Hall (named for William Newton's wife) was completed at Lynn and Massachusetts streets providing classroom and dormitory space for 60 students of the nursing school. The WNH Nursing School was closed in 1969. Local colleges have since provided nursing education.
• 1952 - The west wing was completed, including four floors and units for pediatrics and obstetrics.
• 1965 - The two-story east wing was completed, including a new emergency room, surgery suite, and 21 additional beds bringing the total to 165. The project also included a large addition to the rear of the original building for expanded support operations.
• 1974 - The city-owned ambulance service came under the management of WNH and was moved to the hospital campus. Three years later the Winfield Area Emergency Medical Service became one of the first Type I services in the state.
• 1981 - A two-story addition to the north end of the east wing included a 6-bed intensive care unit, EMS bunk room and an expanded stock room. The project included renovation of the west wing.
• 1982 - The establishment of WNH Home Health and Healthways marked the beginning of local and national trends toward alternatives to inpatient care that continue today.
• 1991-2000 - WNH increased outreach focus in an effort to help the community maintain local control of healthcare. Efforts over the next decade included formal networks with regional healthcare providers, active participation in physician recruiting, establishment of rural health clinics in three counties, occupational health services with local industry and partnering in new services such as radiation oncology and renal dialysis.
• 1992 - The Winfield Healthcare Center opened across the street from the hospital. The building provides office space for consulting staff physicians and hospital outpatient services.
• 1995 - William Newton Hospital was asked to help Chautauqua, Elk and parts of Cowley counties address the possible loss of healthcare access. In response, WNH opened four rural health clinics beginning with Cedar Vale, then Dexter, then Sedan, and lastly Moline.
• 1998 - New and renovated spaces over the next five years included the main lobby, emergency and radiology departments, gift shop, patient waiting and conference areas, EMS quarters, surgery department, obstetrics, and facilities for MRI and radiation oncology.
• 2004 - Following the closing of Snyder Clinic, the community's largest physician clinic, and facing the potential loss of needed physicians in the area, WNH began construction of the three story, 30,000 square foot Physicians Pavilion on the WNH campus.
• 2005 - To ensure that WNH will be able to serve citizens well into the future, a successful capital fundraising campaign was launched with a goal of two million dollars over five years and led to the formation of the William Newton Healthcare Foundation.
• 2006 - Hospital leaders actively sought and received certification as a Critical Access Hospital which opened up cost reimbursement from Medicare. WNH continues to be a full-service healthcare provider adapting to the needs of those we serve.
• 2009 - Patient rooms on the medical-surgical floor were remodeled. The extensive renovation to the 1965 wing features single patient rooms that are sound resistant and infection control appropriate. There are special bariatric and ADA accessible rooms as well. The project included new beds, fire code upgrades, a new individual patient temperature control system and a high capacity emergency power generator.
• 2012 - The Family Birthing Center on 3rd West received improvements similar to the 2009 renovation above. In addition, the hospital energy system was upgraded for patient comfort and reduced cost.
• 2014 - The effort to expand surgical services through the creation of the Surgical Center of Excellence included medical equipment upgrades and physician recruitment for the $1.5 million project.
• 2016 - Major upgrades from the Central Plant Project totaling $1.5 million addressed needs for electrical, water, air conditioning and parking, while preparing for future large-scale renovations.
• 2018 - The hospital broke ground on Phase 1 of its 10-year master facility plan starting with the surgical department expansion.
• 2020 - The H. L. Snyder Medical Foundation Surgery Center opened its doors in January. The expansion included an orthopaedic operating room, pre/post-operative care units, cardiovascular catheterization laboratory (or ‘cath lab’), chapel, and two waiting areas. Materials management, central sterile, and pharmacy were also relocated and renovated to create space for the surgery center.