Hospital type Community Number of beds 101 Founded 1950 | Headquarters California, United States Funding Non-profit Hospital | |
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Location Paradise, Butte County, California, United States Care system Private, Medicare, Medicaid Emergency department Basic, Physician On Duty Lists Hospitals in California CEO Monty Knittel (6 Jun 2016–) Founders Dr. Glenn Blackwelder, Dr. Merritt C. Horning, Dr. Dean Hoiland, Dr. C.C. Landis Similar Adventist Health, Walla Walla General, White Memorial Medical, Rideout Memorial Hospital, Central Valley General | ||
Feather river hospital holds open house for new emergency department
Feather River Hospital is a 101-bed acute care hospital located in Butte County near the city of Paradise, California, with a wide array of outpatient departments and services designed to meet the health care needs of Paradise and its neighboring communities.
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History
In 1946, Dr. Merritt C. Horning envisioned building a “total health center” in Paradise, California. Dr. Horning shared this vision with three of his colleagues: Dr. Dean Hoiland, Dr. C.C. Landis and Dr. Glenn Blackwelder. These men, along with other community leaders, purchased 35 acres (14 ha) from Paradise Irrigation District for the price of back taxes – $3,500. Within the next few years, additional acreage was acquired throughout several purchases, eventually totaling 182 acres (74 ha). Labor and building materials were largely acquired through donations and volunteers.
Construction was scheduled to begin in April 1948, however, at the time funding was not available to build surgical and obstetrical units. When applying to the State of California for an operating license, the hospital board learned that the hospital did not qualify for a license unless it had a surgical unit. Dr. Horning contacted a friend, the state director of public health, and soon a new hospital classification was created to accommodate the project. Within days, Feather River received a license to operate as an acute medical facility containing 18 beds and officially opened in 1950.
Feather River has experienced three “firsts” in their geographical region. It was the only hospital in the area to train nurse assistants; they pioneered the teen volunteer program of candystripers and handystripers, and the facility was the first public building in Butte County to prohibit smoking.
In 1952, a surgery unit was added and by the end of the decade, a new wing also had been completed. More space was soon needed, so in 1964 a new food service department and a physician’s office building was added. Four years later, in 1968, the construction of a new 150-bed hospital was completed. This facility is located uphill from the original building which now houses the hospital’s Health Center.
The hospital founders and trustees desired to ensure the facility’s long-term mission as an Adventist health care center and so in 1960 they entrusted the hospital to the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. On January 8, 1973, Feather River joined Adventist Health and became Adventist Health/Feather River Hospital.
Affiliation
Feather River is part of Adventist Health, a health care organization headquartered in Roseville, California. Adventist Health represents regional delivery networks spanning California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. The networks comprise 85 distinct business units including 20 acute care facilities—controlled, managed or leased—with more than 3,000 beds, 17,000 employees, numerous clinics and outpatient facilities, medical foundations and 18 home health agencies.
Services
In 1980, a $1.5 million, 13,600 sq ft (1,260 m2). addition was built to house the Intensive Coronary Care Unit, Emergency Department and Medical Imaging Department. Operating suites, a laboratory and certain services were also remodeled. In the late 1980s, an Alcohol and Chemical Recovery Program opened and a state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Lab was added in March 1990. The Center for Women’s Health opened in September of the same year.
In 1999, Feather River became the first hospital in Northern California to house an Endoscopy Suite complete with voice activated, hands free surgical equipment. It is one of only four hospitals in the region with an anticoagulation clinic, and funds a wide range of preventative treatment programs.