Our new facility represents the most recent accomplishment of an organization that has been in place in Saunders County for a long time. The current county health care system was established in 1929. That was the year in which the Wahoo Lion’s Club raised approximately $12,000. The money was used to purchase property on which the facility stood as the home for Saunders County health care from 1951 until 2007.  Ground was broken on the hospital portion of that facility in 1949. After a few construction delays, including a 5 week strike by the construction workers, the building was completed and opened for business by 1951.

Longtime residents of the county know that the look of the facility changed several times over the years. A sun porch and room were added onto the building in 1958. In 1961, the front entryway was enclosed.  A new west wing of the hospital was added onto the facility four years later.  Air conditioning helped to make the facility more comfortable for staff and patients alike in 1967.  Less than a decade later, the hospital board decided to add nursing home care to the list of services offered.  By 1975, the Saunders County Care Center was ready to open with beds for approximately 70 residents.

Services were expanded again in 1992, with the addition of the Coleman Clinic. Along with these major additions, Saunders County Health Services (SCHS) also took on several more modest improvement projects. The physical therapy area was renovated in 1990, and 1994 saw the remodeling of the emergency room. In December 1999, SCHS gained critical access status. The critical access program was created by congress to help ensure the financial well-being of rural hospitals. Due to being grandfathered, the facility kept this status even after it relocated.

By 2004, the recommendation was made to build a new facility. A campaign was started to tell the public about the problems facing the current facility and the need to continue quality health care in Saunders County. The effort to replace the existing facility was dubbed the “New Era in Health Care” campaign. A June 2005 vote of Saunders County residents confirmed that was the best option. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new $22 million facility was held in November of 2005 with construction immediately following. The replacement facility was finished in October of 2007.  With the changes in the facility, the Board of Trustees voted that same year to change the name to Saunders Medical Center (SMC) citing that an updated facility needed an updated name. SMC remains a county owned facility. And so begins the new era.

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