History
Read a newspaper article from February 2012 on the Early Harlan Hospitals + Doctors Offices here.
Chris Myrtue left his entire estate to finance a hospital to serve Shelby County after his death in January 1945. His farms were sold, and the funds were invested in government bonds, totaling $200,000. A suit was filed by Myrtue's heirs, but the court ruled that Myrtue had the right to give his entire estate to a hospital project. After local voters approved a bond issue and taxes, a 50-bed hospital was built with a total of $900,000 in funds. The whirlwind "Operation Hospital" campaign raised the additional $150,000 needed in just two months, and Myrtue Memorial Hospital opened on August 2, 1954, nearly 10 years after Myrtue's death. Read the full story.
Continuing to better our care for patients and the community:
- 1945: Chris Myrtue passed away, leaving his estate for a hospital
- 1949: Voters approved $200,000 bond issue, taxes of $150,000
- 1950: Federal Aid of $350,000 obtained
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1954: Myrtue Memorial Hospital opens a 50-bed hospital
- 1966: New inpatient wing opens
- 1978: Expansion of the south side of the hospital
- 1983: Storeroom, Dock, and Garage extension added
- 1983: Avoca Rural Health Clinic opens
- 1985: ER / Admitting extension added
- 1986: G. E. Larsen Clinic opens in Elk Horn
- 1990: Prairie Rose Mental Health opens
- August 1991: Shelby County Medical Clinic opens in Harlan
- 1992: Shelby Rural Health Clinic opens
- 1994: Home Health and Public Health move to the Hospital
- 1995: Surgery and OB extension added
- 1996: Hospice services begin
- 1999: Physical Therapy, Home Health, Public Health, Dialysis renovation
- 2005: Myrtue Medical Center is converted into a Critical Access Hospital
- 2010: Petersen Family Wellness Center and Lewis Family Aquatic Complex extension added
- 2010: Community Health moves to 12th Street in Harlan
- 2011: Earling Rural Health Clinic opens
- 2011 - 2013: $16.3 million dollars expansion and renovation of the Surgery + Outpatient Specialty Clinic
- 2023: $7.7 million dollars expansion and renovation of the Emergency Department - opening goal date of summer 2024
Physicians Throughout the Years
Myrtue Medical Center has been fortunate to employ exceptional healthcare professionals who have provided unparalleled care to our community.
- Dr. Carl V. Bisgard
- Dr. Joseph H. Spearing
- Dr. Robert E. Donlin
- Dr. Lawrence V. Larsen
- Dr. William S. Markham
- Dr. Gerald E. Larson (Elk Horn)
- Dr. Wing-Tai Fung (prior to 1974)
- Dr. R. Duane Harris – 1968
- Dr. Roger A. Davidson – 1982
- Dr. Gary Erbes
- Dr. R. Lawrence Magruder
- Dr. David Stilley – 1983
- Dr. Lou Ann McStay (Avoca) – 1986
- Dr. Timothy Brelje – 1993
- Dr. Dilip Parikh – 1994
- Dr. Scott Markham – 1995
- Dr. Donald Klitgaard – 1999
- Dr. Bret Heileson – 2000
- Dr. Sarah Devine – 2003
- Dr. David Erlbacher – 2003
- Dr. Michael Bess – 2008
- Dr. David Bendorf – 2009
- Dr. Brian Anderson – 2010
- Dr. R. Adam Bendorf – 2015
- Dr. Edward Fisher III – 2015
- Dr. Hannah Johnk – 2015
- Dr. Tina Flores Schechinger – 2020
- Dr. Kelly Anderson – 2020
- Dr. LeRoy Hodges – 2022