On Feb. 17, Liberty Hospital will celebrate its 30th anniversary
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On Feb. 17, Liberty Hospital will celebrate its 30th anniversary by quietly doing what has made the hospital such a valuable asset to the Northland Community — focusing on patient care.
Russell Stocksdale is credited with founding Liberty Hospital. He counted on community support to make the hospital a reality when he and many other concerned citizens lobbied for the successful vote and establishment of the hospital district in 1970. The first Liberty Hospital District Trustees included: Russell Stocksdale, president; Robert DeMasters, vice president; Bill Adams, clerk; Charles Gillespie; Dr. H.I. Hester; Vincent Rigby; Robert Lincoln; and Bruce Heavner, attorney for the board.
In December 1972 the trustees broke ground on the new 130-bed hospital. Just 14 months later, 3,000 people packed the new hospital for its official dedication on Feb. 3, 1974. The hospital accepted its first patient on Feb. 17. The original medical staff included 39 physicians and the hospital saw 96 patients the first week of operation.
Thirty years later, Liberty Hospital has emerged as a major health care provider to the residents of Clay County, Platte County, and northwest Missouri. The hospital has increased its services and bed capacity in eight major expansions.
“The hospital’s size alone illustrates the tremendous growth we have experienced,” Administrator Joseph Crossett says. “In 1974 the hospital was approximately 100,000 square feet. Once the hospital completes its latest construction project, it will include approximately 550,000 square feet.
“There are now 235 licensed beds and more than 360 physicians on staff. Last year more than 9,000 inpatients were treated at Liberty Hospital.
The comprehensive medical campus offers a myriad of specialty services only dreamed of in the hospital’s beginning.
“In the past five years the hospital has experienced great growth with the addition of our first medical office building, and new construction of a second. By locating medical office space on the Liberty Hospital campus, we have been able to make it more convenient for both our physicians and their patients to access the hospital,” Crossett explains.
Services such as cardiology and outpatient oncology have experienced recent growth. “We now provide a broad spectrum of procedures that weren’t available just five years ago,” says Mr. Crossett.
When the second medical office building is complete, radiation oncology will be added to those procedures and will provide important support to the hospital’s ACS-approved oncology program. Mr. Crossett also points to Project TreeHouse as an amenity under construction what will round out the hospital’s range of care.
“Project TreeHouse, a hospitality house, will provide a special touch for our patients their families,” he says.
With all the growth and building on campus, Mr. Crossett stresses that Liberty Hospital remains committed to community services such as the Level II trauma program and emergency services.
“Each year Liberty Hospital makes a significant commitment to provide trauma and emergency care to the community because that is an important part of our mission,” Mr. Crossett says, “and we remain committed to providing that care for the Northland.”
“The quality of care we provide is based on the individuals who work and volunteer here,” Mr. Crossett says. “None of what we have accomplished over the past 30 years would have been possible without the 1,500 employees, 360 physicians and 207 volunteers who care for patients at Liberty Hospital each and every day. They are the ones who deserve recognition for the hospital’s success.”