Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics history

On April 17 1893, construction of St Ignatius Hospital began while three Sisters of Charity provided care in a wooden building located on the site.

The original two-story St Ignatius hospital was complete in 1894 and housed 145 patients in the first 18 months.

The St Ignatius School of Nursing was established and in 1911 graduated its first class of nurses.

The original St Ignatius Hospital, located at the end of South Main Street, after its addition in the 1920s.

By 1936 a separate dormitory for nursing students was opened.

Washington State’s first two male nurses, Philip Kromm and Archie McClintic, earned their nursing degree from St Ignatius School of Nursing in 1941.

Facing closure by the state and a declining population, in August of 1964 it was decided to close St Ignatius Hospital and build a new facility.

With a recommendation that the Sisters operate the new hospital, the community conducted several fundraising efforts to raise $600,000 and by 1965 the community was eligible for federal matching funds in the amount of $400,000.

Over time the hospital had outgrown its original 1968 design with an overcrowded emergency room, lack of patient privacy and inadequate space for new technology.

3 was created in 1989 to directly serve the communities of Colfax, Endicott, LaCrosse, Steptoe and St John.

St Ignatius Hospital became an assisted living facility until it was closed in 2000.

In 2003 WHMC achieved designation as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) under a federal program enabling cost based reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

In 2015 the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation added St Ignatius Hospital to their 2015 Most Endangered Properties list.

Whitman Hospital and Medical Clinics (WHMC) celebrated 125 years in 2018 giving our staff a great feeling of pride reflecting on the hospital's rich history.