ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
This year will mark a milestone anniversary for the country when America celebrates its 250th birthday on July 4.
In Southwest Kansas, Meade District Hospital is celebrating its own milestone anniversary this year. Founded as the Meade Hospital District on Jan. 2, 1951, with the hospital built that same year, the area health care facility is now in its 75th year of helping people stay healthy.
Dawn Unruh, CEO for Artesian Valley Health System, the company that now runs MDH, said the hospital came from small beginnings and has expanded over many years to accompany growth.
“In 2004, our current hospital facility was more updated and has allowed us to expand some and to update some technology, while continuing to grow and serve the community,” she said.
The celebration started earlier this month, and Unruh said several celebrations are planned for 2026.
“We kicked off the year with an employee celebration on the 2nd,” she said. “Throughout the year, we’ll have ‘75 Years of Trusted Care’ that will be alongside our logo, and we’re also planning to have a come and go community celebration at the hospital April 16 to celebrate the people who supported us throughout the years.”
Unruh said today’s MDH features a wide variety of services for patients.
“We have inpatient services, emergency services,” she said. “We have imaging like CTs, MRIs, ultrasounds, X-rays. We also provide pain management, respiratory therapy, endoscopy and surgical services. We have laboratory services and physical therapy, cardiopulmonary rehab. In addition, we host outreach clinics for specialties like cardiology, orthopedics, and we also have telehealth urology and general surgery.”
AVHS also operates rural health clinics in Meade, Plains and Montezuma, and Unruh said this helps reach more patients in the area. She added facilities have expanded over the years as well.
“We’ve added new technology,” she said. “We have outpatient services in our clinics. The whole idea is to try to keep patients as close to home as much as possible. We’re always looking for new ways to explore opportunities.”
With health care changes being a constant in today’s world, Unruh said MDH must too constantly adapt to keep up with those changes.
“It’s an ever-changing landscape,” she said. “That might mean adding new services, increasing telehealth options or bringing in new technology that will help us provide better care for our patients and keep it local as much as possible so they don’t have to travel as much.”
So what does it mean for a hospital to have been in business for 75 years? For the Meade community, Unruh said it means the world.
“Being here for 75 years has shown we’ve had trust from our community, and we’ve cared for generations of families,” she said. “We’ve had generations of employees within our facility. That kind of longevity doesn’t happen without strong community support and a dedicated staff like that.”
Unruh said MDH is comparable to hospitals in communities in similar size to Meade.
“For a hospital in a community our size, we’re able to offer many services and specialty access people might not access,” she said. “I think there are other hospitals that are our size that probably do the same, and we really focus on quality care and making sure parents feel cared for and supported. It’s neighbors taking care of neighbors. That’s really what most small hospitals are trying to do in their communities.”
And what is ahead for the next 75 years at Meade’s hospital? Unruh said this may be a long time, but she believes the future is pretty exciting for AVHS.
“We plan to keep exploring, keep adapting, keep investing in service opportunities we can provide, anything that can help us meet the changing needs of our community while staying true to who we are as a small hospital and providing hometown values for our patients,” she said.
Unruh said she and her staff are quite excited for what is to come for MDH in the next 75 years.
“We have a strong team, a supportive community and a solid foundation, so we feel very confident about where we’re headed and the care we’re able to provide our patients,” she said.
