At the end of last week, the Nell J Redfield Hospital hosted an ice cream social to thank the community for its support over the last 100 years.  The event is one of the many planned for this centenary year, over which the hospital, and the Enterprise, are looking back at the last century of service and professionalism in the county.  NJRMH’s Kathy Hubbard and John Williams, as well as many members of the hospital and clinic’s staffs, spent the afternoon chatting with the crowds of people who stopped by for a cold ice cream bar.  Williams provided a DJ set, and was happy to talk over it to those in attendance about what the hospital has planned for the next 100 years.

There were no long speeches at the event, which saw constant streams of visitors throughout the afternoon.  There was, however, a lot of chatting and conversation between the administration, the staff, patients, and community members—almost all of whom have had (or currently have) family members that have been cared for over the course of the hospital’s existence.  That difference, the one between a distant, public event, and the less formal person-to-person experience, is central to the way that the hospital operates.  While an impressive array of awards, recognitions, and ratings from professional health care organizations attest to the professionalism and quality of the hospital, that isn’t in the end more important than the relationship that people in the community have with it.

There are few of the hospital’s 165 or so employees that people don’t know from one of their many other roles within the community.  Many of the NJRMH employees also serve as coaches, paraprofessionals, educators, farmers, ranchers, and a host of other roles.  For many, it can be a surprise to find out that someone they know from one aspect of their daily lives is ALSO a hospital worker.   But that’s what allows the facility to provide the kind of care that is responsive, friendly, and able to make the barrier between a health care experience that can sometimes be intimidating a little easier to handle.

During the second half of the year, we plan to bring you more of the specific nuts and bolts of how the hospital works, and what it does to qualify for some of the aforementioned impressive accolades that it has accumulates, as well as some of the expanded service lines that are constantly being added to.  

For now, we extend a hearty congratulations to the local health care facility that has come a long way from its humble beginnings a hundred years ago, but still has a lot of plans for where it wants to go in the future.  Major improvements like the outpatient services that allow for cancer treatment without having to drive several hours, and new surgical beds that allow for a wider range of treatments and surgical interventions suggest that as long as there is a need, there are people in place who will do their best to meet it.

During the event, there were Door Prizes, which were won by the following: Audre Broadbent-Hanging Basket; Brett Allen-Blackstone Grill; Emaly Sweeten-Camp Chef.  Roughly 350 to 400 people attended the ice cream social, though no firm number was recorded.