Memorial Community Hospital & Health System history

The letter was read at the campaign kick-off dinner held January 9, 1957, at Belleville Township High School West gym.

Formal organization of the Medical Staff occurred April 2, 1958, re-electing Doctor Tegtmeier as medical staff president.

In 1960, Memorial made its first stride in a long list of “firsts” among metro-east hospitals: the first Cobalt-60 radiation therapy unit for the treatment of cancer in the area opened at the hospital.

The Memorial Convalescent Center (Memorial Care Center) was purchased in 1964, thus becoming the first St Clair County extended care facility owned and operated by a hospital.

Through an entire community effort, the hospital was purchased and the final sale documents were signed on June 20, 1967.

In 1970, the advisory board was discontinued, and laypersons were invited to serve on a Board of Directors which operates the hospital as a non-profit organization to this day.

1971 – A four-story, 33,000 square foot wing was added to the Hospital.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital was created in 1972.

In January, 1974, the hospital was renamed Memorial Medical Center.

In the year 1975 it became necessary to institute a fund drive for the renovation of the internal structure of our hospital to make it compliant with state standards.

1976 – Emergency Services began.

1978 – Cardiopulmonary services were expanded to address growing rates of heart disease The gift shop and cafeteria were expanded.

In addition, Memorial started the first cardiac rehabilitation program in mid-Missouri in 1979 and was the first hospital in Jefferson City to offer in-house computed tomography (CT) scanning services.

1980 – The Sisters of the Little Company of Mary moved to a new home, and their former convent was renamed the Memorial Hospital Annex, which is utilized as office spaces today.

The Memorial Medical Center Foundation was established in 1981 to promote charitable support for health care in the Springfield community.

In 1984 a state-of-the-art cardiac surgery facility and expanded cardiology suites were completed.

In 1986, Memorial Health System formed Memorial HomeCare to offer a resource for a variety of durable medical equipment and professional services for patients at home.

Braswell, whose name grew synonymous with Memorial Hospital over the years, served 29 ½ years as its chief executive officer before retiring in 1987.

1988 – Medical Oncology Services opened a clinic in the Medical Arts Building.

1989 – A full-time pediatrician joined the staff.

A new addition to the hospital campus of Pana Community Hospital was completed in May, 1990, with the opening of the Medical Mall.

1991 – Memorial Hospital celebrated our 40th anniversary! Construction began on a new expansion project for outpatient services.

To meet the community's growing need for outpatient services, Memorial and a group of private developers completed an ambulatory services development in January of 1993.

In 1994, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln, Illinois joined Memorial Health System.

21, 1997, Capital Region formed an affiliation with the University of Missouri Health System.

2002 – The largest expansion project began – the seven-level LCM Tower.

Mark J. Turner, who had served as Memorial’s executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2004 was named to succeed Maier as president and CEO of the hospital and its related corporations.

Community Memorial Health System, established in 2005 when Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura merged with Ojai Valley Community Hospital, is comprised of these two hospitals along with family-practice health centers serving various communities within Ventura County.

GI/Endoscopy Lab, expanded in 2006 provides physicians, patients and their families with increased comfort and efficiency.

2007 – The Lange Fuhs Cancer Center opened along with Levels 4 & 5 of the LCM Tower.

Memorial Belleville and Memorial Care Center were first designated at Magnet organizations in 2008.

In January 2009, our primary care network was renamed Memorial Physician Services (MPS). MPS includes over 40 physicians, 10 nurse practitioners and a physician assistant serving patients in 11 locations.

On June 28, 2011, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board unanimously approved Memorial’s plan to build a 94-bed full-service hospital in Shiloh, Illinois.

In 2013, Memorial introduced the robotic surgical system to the community used to provide minimally invasive surgery in the specialties of general services, gynecology and urology.

In April 2014, Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville joined the health system as a full affiliate.

Memorial Hospital East opened April 12, 2016 to serve the healthcare needs of residents further east and north.

In November 2017, a Certificate of Exemption was filed with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board signaling total affiliation with BJC HealthCare.

In 2018, plans were announced to build a three-story, 70,650 square-foot addition to the existing medical office building which will house Siteman Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the region.

In late 2020, Memorial/BJC and Encompass Health received approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board (IHFSRB) to build a $31 million, 47,749-square-foot, 40-bed rehabilitation institute in Shiloh.