Today marks 100 years for Perry Memorial Hospital

PRINCETON — Today, June 17, 2020, officially marks 100 years since the doors to Perry Memorial Hospital opened to serve patients.

The history of Perry’s past century is rich — one that’s fill with both good years and bad.

The hallways at Perry are now lined with posters that tell about health care in Princeton before Perry existed and how the city came about having its own public hospital. Old photos, newspaper clippings and antique hospital records adorn the history.

The man behind all the work is Dane Stier, Perry’s digital marketing specialist. He’s spent more than 100 hours over these past few months digging through a century-worth of archives about the hospital.

He’s organized bins of newspaper clippings and historical documents, he’s looked through scrapbooks dating more than 70 years old, he’s made a few trips to the Bureau County Historical Society and even tracked down and interviewed relatives of Perry’s prominent names from the past.

Stier said he’s got an interest in history, but it was the detective work of tracking down bits of information or good quality photos that really excited him along this journey.

“It’s all fallen into place, and it’s been fun,” he said.

The work, while daunting at times, is important to Stier.

“I don’t think anybody else knows this stuff. I wanted to do as thorough job as possible so that no one has to spend this much time going through it again,” he laughed.

Once the hospital is able to reopen to the community following the COVID-19 situation, Stier said people will be encouraged to go in and take a look at the history so that they can reflect on all the ups and downs faced over the years.

“It’s important for people to know that the majority of Perry’s history has been very challenging,” Stier said. “Most people’s memory of the hospital starts in the 70s, 80s or 90s when it wasn’t a challenging time, but before the 70s, times at Perry were difficult.”

It seemed like just when Perry solved one issue at hand, another would rise up, and the hospital constantly played catch-up to maintain the best service it could for patients.

Perry’s history has overcome many hurdles, but today it’s up against a hurdle that has forced many small hospitals throughout the country to close its doors. Advancements in technology, expensive regulations and financial complexity are hurting small hospital everywhere.

“There’s no way to keep up with it all as a small hospital,” Stier said. “It’s always been a struggle to maintain. You have to wonder when are you going to reach that level of when you can’t get over the next hurdle?”

Perry’s board of directors are in current discussions with OSF Health Care with a goal to keep a community hospital in Princeton for another 100 years.

A look back at the last century

Before the establishment of a hospital

In 1902, brothers Homer and Lee Hickman, who were osteopathic physicians, purchased a house on Park Avenue East, on the same land where the hospital stands today, and opened the Princeton Sanitarium and Surgical Hospital. Due to personal illness and financial problems, it closed in 1904.

In 1905, Dr. Matthew Blackburn reopened the facility. He ran it for three years in addition to presiding over the Bureau County Independent Telephone Company and State Bank, before calling it quits.

In 1910, nurse Pearl Cox purchased the hospital and ran it until a case of smallpox forced the hospital to quarantine. This resulted in a loss of revenue. The community tried to raise funds to support it, but it wasn't enough. A public referendum to levy a tax to support the hospital was the last hope to keep it open, but voters rejected the idea.
"Municipal services were a new concept for people," Stier said. "Plus, World War I was coming into play and people were nervous about the money it would cost."

Hospital's namesake comes into play

Malden native Julia Rackley Perry bequeathed $25,000 to the city of Princeton for a public hospital in 1913.

Perry was born in 1858 to parents who had been raised in Bureau County by some of the earliest settlers in the area. She married Jesse Perry in 1877 and he operated the Perry Brothers mercantile shop in Malden.

As an only child, Julia inherited a great deal of money from her parents, and combined with the success of her husband, the Perry fortune grew throughout their lives. The had one son, George, who died suddenly at 9.

“When he died, it really turned Jesse and Julia on to a very Christian life and they became very into their faith,” Stier said.

The question became who would inherit their money?

Perry's attorney suggested they leave it to help the poor and sick of Bureau County. That's what they did.
When her husband died in 1915, the remainder of their assets were added to the trust. In all, more than $50,000 was gifted for a public hospital.

“At that time, that was worth over $1 million,” Stier said.

In 1916, the city passed an ordinance for the establishment of the Julia Rackley Perry Memorial Hospital. It would take another four years for it to actually open.

A new beginning

A two-story hospital opened on June 17, 1920. It could hold 28 patients and five babies.

Throughout the 20s and 30s, the hospital saw a lot of growth. People were becoming more mobile with cars and driving from further distances to seek care.

Between World War I and World War II, advancements in medicine happened, health insurance was becoming a thing and more services were offered to patients.

“The needs of the hospital were growing very quickly,” Stier said. “It was beyond the scope of just nurses managing everything. They needed people who knew how to navigate all the insurance and business aspects of it.”

Turmoil begins for Perry

In 1947, Princeton City Council voted to change the leadership structure at the hospital. The hospital had lost $70,000 of its annual $200,000 budget that year.

The first board of directors were appointed and included Watson Lawton, Robert Zearing and Celia Diller. They hired an administrator and auditor to improve the organization and efficiency.

The hospital faced a poor reputation at the time. Overcrowding was a huge issue. Patients were being turned away and surgeries were getting canceled due to overcrowding.

The board and administration sought to fundraise for a $350,000 addition and renovation.

A firm was hired to help train staff on how to solicit funds, but as the drive progressed, labor costs and materials skyrocketed. The cost of what they needed doubled to $600,000. Due to a poor reputation, the hospital fundraiser couldn't even raise $350,000.

The board pursued a hospital district to draw in tax money, but voters rejected the idea.

The board and administration used what money it had to renovate what could be done. The front of the hospital was renovated and an east wing was added that could fit 16 more patients. This didn't entirely solve the overcrowding issues, however.

In 1957, the hospital once again asked for community support to erect a new wing. This time, they succeeded in raising $300,000.

The glory days of Perry

The new addition was finished in 1959 and allowed for 150 beds total. But even with the addition, the need for a new building became apparent again as safety regulations and Medicare were making the original 1920 hospital building unusable. It was eventually condemned by the fire marshal.

In the mid 60s, the board fundraised for construction once again. They also secured grants and made a deal with the city, but soaring costs made building plans worth more than $1 million.

Arnold Walter, the hospital's' administrator, called for construction to commence despite a shortfall. A plan was determined to build a smaller structure with an unfinished third floor that could be completed at a later date (that date would be sometime in 1976).

The first and second floors of the new wing were completed in 1969, but now the hospital lacked space for medical offices.

Hal Autry, Walter's successor, came up with a revolutionary idea to build an office building that would allow space for visiting specialty physicians.

The medical office building, which it’s known today, was completed in 1978. Specialty physicians rented space and it attracted Princeton Family Physicians and dozens of specialty services from area groups and hospitals, which continue to serve the community today.

Autry also opened outlying clinics in surrounding communities, such as LaMoille, Sheffield, Manlius and Henry.

“People who have memories of the hospital from the 70s, 80s or 90s — that was a very good time,” Stier said. “The administration was slowly growing and new departments and services were being added.”

Becoming a community hospital

In the 90s, Bill Spitler, Autry's successor, focused on making Perry a community hospital that offered free screenings, classes for things like diabetes and prenatal care and community events. It began making significant donations to the community, as well.

In 1992, the Perry Memorial Hospital Foundation came to fruition, adding another avenue for outreach and fundraising.

But then a new trend happened. Hospital stays began to decline. By 1990, 150 beds were reduced to 70, and the average length of stay was dropping. Many services could be done without a stay at all. The hospital began tightening its belt as it faced great loss with Medicaid.

Changing times catch up to Perry

In 1999, Spitler retired and things came crashing down. Money was being hemorrhaged left and right. Departments were forced to close. The outlying clinics around the county closed and a lot of jobs were lost.

In the early 2000s, changes in compliance and billing for state and federal regulations forced staff to scramble. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid began hitting hard and the hospital faced significant financial loss.

In 2004, Perry took a step to gain better financial stability. It became a Critical Access Hospital, which meant it would only use 25 beds. This provided Perry with more funding, but the hospital now had to meet certain care requirements.

Steps toward lasting another century

In the last 10 years, the hospital has worked to re-position itself to have more outlying clinics once again and has grown its providers.

In 2014, the maternity ward closed down as a result of decline in childbirths.

Technology is changing at a rate that small hospitals can’t keep up. Insurance providers are making it more difficult to receive reimbursements. Since 2013, federal budget sequestration has caused a loss of revenue from Medicare patients.

In 2019, hospital leadership recognized the challenges Perry would face by working as an independent community hospital. The board and Princeton City Council entered into partnership discussions with OSF Healthcare in Peoria.

“I think the last 20 years have been us adjusting to the hurdle we hit in 1999 and now it’s do we wait and let something like that happen, again? Or do we make changes so we’re ready next time,” Stier said.