Fort Madison History
A Caring Tradition Since 1901
1901
Sisters of Saint Francis transform the Schwartz property, just south of Old Settlers Park, into St. Elizabeth's Hospital with room for 15 patients.
1912
1925
An addition is built onto the Sacred Heart Hospital to meet increased space needs.
1956
A second addition is built onto Sacred Heart to add patient rooms, surgery, an obstetrics area, an emergency room, a lobby/office, and a cafeteria.
1977
The Sisters discontinued their association with Sacred Heart Hospital. The building and equipment are sold to a nonprofit board of directors for $1. The facility's name has been changed to Fort Madison Community Hospital.
1986
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital on a 20-acre site on Highway 61 at the west end of Fort Madison is June 18.
1987
The 58,000-square-foot hospital is built for $10.2 million. The hospital and adjoining office building are dedicated on May 31.
1990
A Professional Office Building expansion is completed.
1997
A 9,415-square-foot walk-in clinic and a 12,860-square-foot medical clinic are added. An open house and dedication are on June 29.
1999
A 4,500-square-foot addition to the Surgical Department is dedicated to Dr. E.J. DeLashmutt. It has an additional operating room, an expanded sterile storage area, and a larger, more private outpatient SurgiCenter.
2001
Existing inpatient rooms are remodeled to become private rooms and 17 private rooms are added.
2005
A two-story, 32,000-square-foot, addition opens on the east end of the hospital facility. The lower level houses hospital business functions and conference space. The main level has additional physician clinic space including the Women's Center, a comprehensive service for women who need obstetrical or gynecological care. Later in the year, the FMCH Wound Healing Center, complete with hyperbaric oxygen chambers, is added.
2011
A 23,500-square-foot state-of-the-art Outpatient Rehabilitation Services Center has been added. It features a full range of therapy services and has a separate entrance. This addition includes a 20'x30' warm-water therapy pool, enhanced occupational therapy space, a dedicated pediatric therapy room, an indoor walking track that is open to the public, and high-tech therapy equipment. FMCH Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Clinic is moved to new office space on the first floor.
The FMCH Chapel of Light is dedicated Oct 17.
2013
The hospital finishes a renovation project that encompasses all inpatient rooms and surrounding patient care areas.
A 3,000-square-foot addition to the Radiology Department is completed. There are new spaces for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT).
The hospital celebrates its 25 anniversary at the current location with an open house May 5.
2015
The hospital completes a three-month renovation of the Emergency Room.
2018
On Aug. 1., Fort Madison Community Hospital joined Great River Medical Center as a partner under the Great River Health corporate umbrella. This partnership of two independent healthcare organizations positioned southeast Iowa as a regional hub for high-quality primary and specialty care, provided through a local health system.
2021
Fort Madison Community Hospital and Great River Medical Center became one hospital with a new name to meet the qualification for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for Sole Community Hospital (SCH) classification. The new name is Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center. The SCH program was created to maintain access to needed health services for Medicare beneficiaries in rural communities by providing greater reimbursement.