2025 marks an extraordinary milestone for Oneida County.  This year our community hospital will reach the amazing benchmark of 100  years of operation.  As the Hospital begins its centennial year, the anniversary marks a perfect time to reflect on the Hospital’s history and recognize the progress it has made as an organization over the last century.  

The movement to establish a community hospital in Oneida County began in 1925. At that time, twelve prominent community members, including Dr. O.H. Mabey, leased the former Peck Hotel (located in the space between the Masonic Lodge and KC Oil) with an obligation to pay $100.00 monthly rent for the building and with the intent to purchase equipment on credit. With aid from the County, the Hospital managed to meet expenses, and Oneida County’s first hospital formally opened its doors 100 years ago.  The Hospital continued operations in this rented space for over ten years.

With changing times bringing increases in available services, the need for a new hospital building became evident. Built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor, the new Hospital was symbolic of the nation’s struggle to pull itself out of the Great Depression. It all started at a meeting of the Hospital Board in November 1935. WPA engineers appeared before the Board and submitted a proposal for the WPA to furnish $26,996 in labor for the construction of a new hospital building. A committee was appointed by the Board and was authorized to go ahead with project. The County Commission sponsored the project and agreed to arrange for the County’s share of the cost.  

The new building was started in 1936 and was completed in October 1938 at 220 Bannock Street. The cost was approximately $65,000. Constructed of poured concrete walls and floors with plumbing and wiring embedded, it was considered fireproof and was built to serve the needs of the community for generations to come.  With a great sense of pride and gratitude, the citizens of Oneida County assembled at the dedication of the newly constructed County-owned facility specifically designed to function as a hospital. This building is still in use today as the Oneida County Clinic.

Twenty-five years later, the Oneida Hospital Board was notified that the building had been refused licensure by the Idaho State Department of Health because it failed to meet fire and life safety standards. A provisional license was issued, pending structural changes in the building. After an extensive study, the Oneida Hospital Board decided to hold a bond election for a mill levy to raise $250,000 for building a new hospital complex. These tax monies along with a federal grant from Hill-Burton funds of $241,000 would provide sufficient financing for an 11-bed regular hospital unit with a 14-bed nursing home facility. The bond election was held in August 1966, and the bond passed, paving the way for approval of the federal grant and the beginning of construction of a new hospital for Oneida County.

In September 1969, after five years of dedicated effort in planning, ground was broken for the new hospital at 150 North 200 West, across the street from the old hospital.  The construction of the hospital on this particular site quickly became a fitting memorial to those who pioneered medical services in this community.  In 2013 the Hospital was named for a long-time benefactor of the Hospital and the community. Still an Oneida County facility, the Hospital is now known as the Nell J. Redfield Memorial Hospital.

Since the completion and dedication of the existing facility in October 1970, the facility has undergone many changes and upgrades, including an extensive addition to the nursing home in 1991 and major improvements to infrastructure and equipment from 2020 forward. 

When we talk about the local Hospital today, we are actually talking about several different facilities that fall under a single umbrella organization.  In addition to the Emergency Department and the Critical Access Hospital, other departments, including the Oneida County Clinic, Oneida County Long-term Care, and all outpatient programs, are part of the organization.  Over the years, these individual departments have grown significantly.  Since the Hospital’s inception, Hospital administration has sought to increase community access to specialized care, and, as a result, the Hospital has made significant strides in bringing new services and quality healthcare programs to the community.  Due to the addition of these services and programs, Redfield Memorial Hospital and its various entities have more than doubled the organization’s financial assets in just the last ten years. This financial security has been accomplished without requiring tax assistance from the citizens of Oneida County. In fact, the Hospital receives no money from the County.

In commencing its Centennial Celebration, Nell J. Redfield Memorial Hospital is proud of where it stands today.  Last year was a banner year for the organization.   Mr. Williams reports that in 2024, the Hospital was audited through six separate survey processes.  Five of these surveys resulted in deficiency-free surveys, and the sixth survey resulted in a single deficiency related to a paperwork item.  These surveys specifically looked at Fire and Life Safety, Emergency Operations Planning, Water Management Processes, Hospital Accreditation, and the Long-Term Care Clinical Processes.  Additionally, the Hospital completed the Idaho Hospital Association’s Quality Survey.  Achieving a deficiency-free survey is an uncommon achievement.  The fact that the organization reached this benchmark five times in 2024 followed by another survey with a single citation is incredible and should be a source of pride for the facility and the community it serves.  

Over the past several years, Redfield Memorial Hospital has been consistently recognized by the Chartis Group for excellence in performance leadership in clinical outcomes and quality.  The Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX is the healthcare industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance in the United States.  There is no better illustration of the value that rural facilities provide to their communities than this annual identification and recognition of the top-performing rural hospitals.  In 2024, Redfield Memorial was listed as being in the top 25% of rural hospitals in quality nationwide.

The Oneida County Clinic received similar recognition last year.  In 2024 the Clinic received “The Lilypad Award,” which acknowledges the Clinic as one of the top fifty rural health clinics in the United States.  There are 5300 rural health clinics in the United States.  This ranking puts our community clinic in the top 1% of rural health clinics for certain key performance metrics nationally.  The Lilypad Award provides a comprehensive and objective assessment of rural health clinic performance.  Even more impressively, Oneida County Clinic has received this award every year for the past five years.

Also, the Oneida County Long-Term Care Center is currently ranked as a CMS 5-star facility by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  This 5-star distinction is given to the top 10% of skilled nursing facilities in a state, as determined by specific quality measures.  Being named a CMS 5-star facility means our community nursing home is among the top eight facilities in Idaho in regard to quality, state inspections, and staffing percentages as of December 2024.  

Finally, over the past several years, Redfield Memorial Hospital has also demonstrated strong financial stability during a very tumultuous time for the healthcare industry.  The healthcare industry presents a challenging and ever-changing environment. Just as the healthcare pioneers of Oneida County were committed to providing facilities and services that the community needed in the past century, the current Hospital Board, administration, and staff remain committed to meeting those needs now and into the next century. 

Through the efforts of many, our community hospital has managed to make quality healthcare a reality for Southeastern Idaho and specifically for Oneida County over the last century. Being part of the community has been an important goal throughout the years, and Redfield Memorial Hospital expresses its appreciation for the community’s ongoing support and loyalty as the Hospital continues to provide quality, dependable health care services.

The Enterprise plans to highlight NJRH throughout this centennial year.