SwedishAmerican history

Clarence Pearson was the first baby born at the hospital on August 29, 1918.

Swedish-Americans have also come together in different manifestations to affirm their ethnicity. It is no coincidence that Svenskarnas Dag in Minneapolis has been celebrated in the middle of June since 1934.

By 1938, SwedishAmerican had served Rockford for 20 years.

1942: An extension to the west wing is completed, expanding the hospital's capacity to approximately 125 beds.

Helge Nelson, The Swedes and the Swedish Settlements in North America (Lund, 1943), 2 vols.

Presson earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas in 1963 and a master's degree in hospital administration from Washington University in St Louis two years later.

By 1964, plans were announced to complete the sixth, seventh, and eighth floors.

Many developments unfolded at SwedishAmerican Hospital during 1967, including the renovation and relocation of many business offices.

On February 28, 1969, E. Dean Grout announced he would resign from SwedishAmerican on April 1 to accept a position at a New Jersey-based consulting firm.

The Outpatient Surgery Center was an important feature of the new pavilion, although SwedishAmerican had offered outpatient surgery since 1971.

SwedishAmerican completed construction on the ninth and tenth floors of its tower addition in 1973, adding approximately 100 additional beds.

In 1974, SwedishAmerican developed the Regional Cancer Center.

Presson remained at the helm of SwedishAmerican until October 1977, when he left to assume a similar post with Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Doctor Robert B. Klint, M.D., M.H.A., succeeded him as president and CEO. Klint had been serving as SwedishAmerican's vice-president and chief operating officer since 1983.

After months of assessment and negotiations to resolve differences about issues that were important to each board, SwedishAmerican decided to withdraw from further discussions in May 1998.

In 1999, SwedishAmerican received further national recognition for its commitment to quality.

In February 2001, Midwest Security Insurance Companies of Onalaska, Wisconsin, announced it would acquire Benchmark Health Insurance Company from SwedishAmerican Health System.