Ozarks Community Hospital history

1931: The outpatient clinic building is constructed and opens on Marquam Hill, allowing medical and nursing students and residents to gain practical experience.

1932: The Department of Nursing Education begins.

1945: The University of Oregon Dental School begins.

In 1951, Doctor Billy V. Hall started Gravette Medical Center on Main Street in Gravette, while designing the layout for a 14 bed hospital that soon came to fruition.

1954: The Child Development and Rehabilitation Center facility is built on Marquam Hill.

1956: The Medical School Hospital is built on Marquam Hill.

1960: The Department of Nursing Education becomes the University of Oregon School of Nursing in Portland within the Oregon State System of Higher Education.

In 1967, Springfield General built and occupied a hospital at 2828 N. National on the Northside of town adjacent to Hwy 44.

By 1971, 51 beds had been added and Gravette Medical Center Hospital was at full capacity.

1973: University Hospital is created through the merger of Multnomah County Hospital, Medical School Hospital and the outpatient clinics.

1974: University of Oregon Health Sciences Center is formed as an independent institution under the direction of the Oregon State System of Higher Education.

In March 1975 a new 4-story brick hospital building opened, housing 99 beds.

1981: The institution is renamed Oregon Health Sciences University.

1989: The Center for Ethics in Health Care is created to promote interdisciplinary study of ethical issues in health care.

1990: The Dotter Interventional Institute is established at OHSU to carry on the work of the pioneer of interventional radiology.

1992: The Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology building opens.

1994: The Oregon Regional Primate Research Center joins OHSU as an affiliate research institute.

1996: University Hospital is renamed OHSU Hospital.

In 1997, a 100-bed hospital located at 2828 N. National in Springfield closed.

In 2000, OCH re-opened it as a renovated 45-bed acute care hospital facility, with only 35 full-time employees.

2001: The Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute and Neurological Sciences Institute buildings open on OHSU's west campus.

2002: Oregon Regional Primate Research Center changes its name to Oregon National Primate Research Center.

2004: The Schnitzer Investment Corp. donates nearly 20 acres of riverfront property in South Waterfront to OHSU.

In 2005, the 100-bed hospital located in Gravette closed.

2006: Peter O. Kohler Pavilion opens as a state-of-the-art patient care facility on Marquam Hill.

In early 2007, our organization was approached by community leaders from a remote town in Northwest Arkansas about the possibility of reopening a closed hospital that was once the major employer and medical safety net for many in rural Benton County.

In 2008, OCH re-opened it as a renovated 25-bed critical access hospital with 30 employees.

2011: The OHSU/OUS Collaborative Life Sciences Building and Skourtes Tower groundbreaking takes place on the Schnitzer Campus.

2013: OHSU celebrates its 125th anniversary.

2015: OHSU sets fundraising record by meeting a $1 billion challenge from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny.

In late 2016, the OCH announced expansion to 5 rural health clinics including one in Oklahoma.