Lincoln's Oldest Hospital

Shared Histories

Frontier Hospital, 1889
The first Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska, was founded by four pioneering Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in 1889. The four were sisters Magdalene, (superior), Cosma, Ida and Petra. The city of Lincoln had only 13,000 residents at that time. Also, along Nebraska’s northern border, the Ogalala Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations were threatening war with the Federal Government because troops were sent in to break up a religious ceremony.

Catholic Bishop Thomas Bonacum asked the sisters to come to Lincoln to start a hospital. He had somehow managed to purchase the Buckstaff family residence for $20,000 for that purpose.

 
The house was located on South Street, between 11th and 13th streets. The land had an apple orchard, a Windmill and a stable. The family, however, did not move out immediately so the sisters moved their trunks and themselves into the basement of the home, with the remainder of their provisions stored in the barn.

Where It All Began
The first Saint Elizabeth Hospital was a home purchased by the Bishop, at 11th and South streets, 1889.

Lean-To Living 
When the Buckstaff family did move out, the sisters built a lean-to attached to the kitchen and dining rooms of the house, which served as their quarters, leaving the house itself for patients. Thus, in Lincoln, began the selfless caring spirit for which the Sisters of St. Francis became so well known.

This original hospital had no electricity, no plumbing and heat was provided by stoves fueled with wood and corncobs. Typhoid, Small Pox, Diphtheria and Scarlet Fever took a heavy toll on Lincoln residents before the city had a hospital. One room, with a bay window, served as the operating room, the recovery room, the reception room and the drug room. When this humble facility first opened its doors, Lincoln had four trained nurses and patients arrived at the door in mule-drawn carts.

First Patient
The hospital’s first patient was W. Reed, a Lutheran laborer who was ill with Typhoid Fever. He was brought to the new facility by Dr. Britt on October 1, 1889. There were four admitting physicians that first year, Drs. Britt, Finney, Mitchel and Griffin. Mr. Reed recovered and was discharged November 23. In all, from October 1, 1889 to January 1, 1890, 26 patients were treated at Saint Elizabeth. Nine of those patients were charity cases. More often than not, when the sisters were paid, their payment was in chickens, turnips, vegetables or hay.

First Baby 
Before the fledgling Saint Elizabeth Hospital had a nursery, it had an infant to care for. The Lincoln Star, January 21, 1910 reported that "The sisters of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital answered their doorbell at 2 o’clock Friday morning to find a 2-day-old baby lying on the cold steps, a fashionable appearing carriage was seen driving away. A piece of paper was pinned to the baby’s garments said that the blue-eyed baby’s name was ‘Thelma Rae’"

The actual first baby born at the hospital was in 1942. The sisters provided free care for mothers and babies who were without financial resources. In 1942, 677 babies were born at Saint Elizabeth. Compare that to over 2000 babies currently born here each year.

Benefactor
The small house soon became inadequate for the increasing number of patients. An addition was constructed, turning the hospital into a three-story structure. In 1901, however, that too proved too limiting. The sisters raised $70,000 to build a new facility. The new structure was 150’ by 50’ and was also three stories high. The actual cost of a building this size was $160,000. The new hospital was constructed only because of the generosity of a benefactor, John Fitzgerald, who donated a substantial amount of money as well as materials, including bricks from his own brickyard.
 

By the 1930s, this "modern" facility on 11th and South Streets, could accommodate 200 patients.

Additions
In 1913, the sisters once again needed to increase capacity at the hospital. They built an addition connecting to the east end of the main building, but rising to four stories. The cost of this was $186,000. They soon added a fourth floor to the main building, along with a laundry, heating plant and a tunnel from the plant to the main building.

In 1914, a fund-raising campaign to retire the hospital’s remaining debt collected $20,000. The building was dedicated by Bishop J. Henry Tihem.
In 1921 the east wing fourth addition added 50 beds to the hospital’s capacity.
Also in 1921, a beautiful Gothic chapel was constructed, measuring 110’ by 40’ at a cost of, according to records at that time, $226,291.05. This was dedicated by Bishop Charles O’Reilly.
By the 1930s the hospital was four stories, with a 60’ frontage facing north on South Street, and two wings, both extending 150’ toward the south. It could accommodate around 200 patients.

School of Nursing
In 1918 the first St. Elizabeth nursing training school was established. This was a landmark achievement. At the time, the hospital sorely needed professional nurses. The sisters decided that they could train lay people and thereby multiply their own considerable level of expertise. Students came from Colorado, Wyoming, and surrounding Midwestern states. Many nurses from out of the area returned to their hometowns. This resulted in spreading the sisters’ medical expertise even further.

The very first class of nurses, however, consisted of three who graduated in 1920. In 1921, a beautiful "modern" nursing school was built at a cost of $205,339.57. It had private rooms, baths, parlors, classrooms, lavatories and a library as well as a gymnasium that could seat more than 350 people. The gym also held a performance stage at one end with curtains and footlights where occasionally plays were presented. The Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing closed its doors in 1970.

Professional Credentials
Today’s credentialing process for physicians is rather rigid, certainly compared with that of 1936. The hospital’s Annual Report from 1936 describes the standards of Saint Elizabeth medical staff like this: "Our staff membership is restricted to physicians and surgeons who are competent in their respective fields, and worthy in character and in matters of professional ethics."

Patient Food Trays
Apparently, nurse/nuns had some interesting skills they had to bring to the table also. The sisters, for instance, raised livestock and had a large vegetable garden to produce food for patients. They had to be budget experts, too, who became skilled in re-using everything they could, to save expenses. When the sister’ veils were too tattered to wear they became baby diapers and sterilized dressings. Accounts exist of the sisters trying to keep their hospital solvent by such efforts as standing by the cemetery gates on Memorial Day, silently asking for donations. They also regularly solicited donations from railroad crews who passed through the area, all to keep their hospital up and running. The sister’s charity also extended to providing meals to the needy to help them "keep body and soul together."

Wheelchair Nurse 
In the 1950s the polio epidemic swept through Lincoln. One Saint Elizabeth nurse, "Corky" Waldman, contracted the crippling ailment but survived and went on to become our first Admitting Nurse. People often wondered if they were seeing things when the uniformed nurse went speeding down the hallways in her wheelchair!

Radiology Leaders
The Saint Elizabeth instructor and director of radiology in the 1950s and 60s, was a national leader in her field. Sister M. Frances Salesia’s research was published nationally in numerous scientific journals. She also presented at national and international conventions of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. Sister Frances Salesia was the first Nebraskan selected as a Fellow in the American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

Burn Center
Saint Elizabeth opened the region’s first Burn Center in 1973. At that time nearly 72% of all serious burns were suffered by children and related to the use of flammable synthetic fabrics for clothing. Today, as when we first opened our center, we use the latest scientific treatments such as TransCyte(R) and Integra(R) to reduce surgeries and recovery time as well to promote optimal healing and lessen scarring. Also, just as in the beginning, the Burn Center coordinates teaching activities with area firefighters, paramedics and others to assure that burn patients will receive the best care possible.

 2000
As Saint Elizabeth entered the new millennium, our Saint Elizabeth Health System is a corporate partner with Catholic Health Initiatives, since 1996. Our health systems include our 257 bed hospital, Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, where for more than 121 years we have cared for the ill and injured in and around Lincoln. Our systems also include a handful of clinics and two stand-alone urgent care centers, all located in Lincoln, Nebraska or surrounding area; a physician network with more than 500 physicians having admitting privileges; an Occupational Health program; a Company Care program; Home and Hospice Care; and a Wellness Center.
 

The 1970s addition---a 257-bed medical center located at 70th and O streets.

We are well recognized for our Children’s Services, which include our general OB services; maternal-fetal program for high risk moms and babies; Labor & Delivery and post-partum; nurseries; and NICU; and our pediatrics. We also offer a Cardiovascular Program with a full range of diagnostic, invasive and non-invasive heart and open heart procedures, off-pump procedures, acute care, and various levels of rehabilitation, including a fully equipped cardio-pulmonary rehab center. We have the area’s first designated and verified Burn and Wound Care Center which is nationally recognized for outstanding research, providing the most current standards of treatment for serious burns or wounds that will not heal.

But we are most proud of our more than 2400 employee/associates who continue to nurture the rich traditions, values and original mission of the sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration.

What’s New!
During the past year Saint Elizabeth has made additional exciting changes as we expand our physicial space, equipment and services to better serve our community. We opened a new Radiation Therapy Center, a greatly expanded emergency department (ED) and a new Burn Center.

The Radiation Therapy Center boasts a state-of-the-art linear accelerator with (1) an IMRT system (intensity modulated radiation therapy) to control radiation doses----with stronger doses for denser tumor areas and less near healthy tissue; (2) the IGRT (image-guided radiation therapy) or On-Board Imager, for incredible precision; (3) the 120-leaf shaper to exactly outline the tumor; and (4) phenomenal respiratory gating to identify, in real-time, the safest time for the tumor will receive radiation.

Burn Center
The Saint Elizabeth Regional Burn Center was the first in the region, opening in 1973. It has now expanded to a spacious 15-bed unit with its own state-of-the-art operating suites and procedure rooms. They continue as a verified burn center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) offering specialized care, services, equipment, and staff trained to treat the most critical burn injuries as well as performing cutting-edge research.

New ED
We have also greatly expanded our emergency department (ED) to a full 25 rooms, each with full cardiac and other medical monitoring capability. ED patients see a triage nurse in minutes and paperwork is done bedside in the exam rooms. This is first department to offer 100% electronic medical records (EMRs) to further improve privacy for patients.

Heart Care
The Saint Elizabeth Chest Pain Center is fully accredited---one of only two accredited centers in the state. Since our ED is the front door to our Chest Pain Center, by using our ED when you  have possible heart attack symptoms you wil automatically become a patient in our Chest Pain Center. Our Echocardiography lab is also accredited. Besides offering an exceptional Heart Center that ranks among the fastest in the nation for response time for heart attacks, we are also a leader in providing an impressive volume of Electro Physiology (EP) procedures; participation in numerous cutting-edge national and international heart studies; and a stellar cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation program. Saint Elizabeth exceeds the national and state averages for response time to heart attack.

Family Birth Center
Our Family Birth Center will assist more than 3.000 newborns into the world again this year; and moms-to-be or their babies with special needs have access to state-of-the-art treatments and technologies and phenomenal survival and quality-of-life successes.  We offer in-house neonatologists. We also offer moms-to-be the widest range of birthing options.
For mroe informaiton on What's New at Saint Elizabeth click here.