HURON — Wednesday afternoon members of the HRMC medical staff, Auxiliary board members, previous board chair Lynn Schneider, and CEO Erick Larson welcomed the community and employees while showcasing items found in a time capsule buried in July 1995.

The time capsule was dedicated to the $12.8 million new hospital addition that added 51,000 square feet to the facility. The time capsule was built into the wall in the lobby with a plaque indicating it should be opened in 25 years.

Doctor Hiroo Kapur, who was serving as the chief of medical staff at HRMC at the time, wrote a letter that was in the time capsule congratulating Dr. Elyse Brock on her appointment as chief of staff at HRMC in the year 2020 — a position that Brock holds  today.

Kapur also wrote that in 1995, they had 27 full time physicians, plus five specialty clinics that were based in the area of Sioux Falls.

There were two physicians practicing in Wessington Springs and two in De Smet. The oldest doctor in the community was 81 and the youngest was 37. Both Wessington Springs and De Smet hospitals were managed by HRMC at the time.

HRMC employed 330 people and had over $7 million in annual payroll. They had six ICU beds, seven pediatric beds, and a nursery.

For Internal Medicine they had 15 private beds, three semi-private beds, including two rooms for patients with disabilities, and one room for patients in crisis. One with a negative air pressure for isolation, and for surgery there were 12 rooms.  

Twenty-five years later, HRMC employs 300 full and part-time employees, with an annual payroll of $19 million, including 15 active staff board certified physicians — making HRMC one of the fourth largest employers in Beadle County.  

“The way rooms are counted today is different than in 1995, so we talk about it as a 25-bed critical access hospital,” said Vice President of Marketing Kim Rieger. “Within those 25 beds are six ICU beds. Additionally, our Birthing Center has eight labor and delivery suites and an additional five rooms for post-partum care of moms and newborns.

“During COVID, a portion of those rooms have been converted to negative pressure rooms with the ability to care for 14 COVID positive patients,” Rieger explained.

Today they offer services in breast cancer, CT scans, counseling/dietician, emergency services, home health, hospice, laboratory services, maternity care, MRI, pathology, radiology, rehabilitation, same day surgery, swing bed and dialysis unit.

“Forty-three years is how long I’ve been in practice at HRMC, the changes are dramatic,” said Dr. Robert Holm. “I look at what the hospital has to offer as far as diagnostic and treatment. It’s just worlds apart from where we were. I think we did good medicine then, and I think we do much better medicine based on what we have equipment-wise, diagnostics, physicians.It’s been fun and continues to be fun despite Covid, but we will make it through. The most important thing I want to say is that the staff have just been unrelenting, positive, hardworking, focused, professional. I’ve never practiced anywhere else in my life.”

Volunteers at the time, called the Pink Ladies, would take the refreshment cart around in the afternoon with juice, coffee, snacks, and they knitted baby caps for the newborns. The money they raise from the souvenir shop goes toward scholarships for nursing students.

Marcia Zwanziger, CFO  (Chief Financial Officer) in 1995, and still current CFO, had enclosed the bills of her sons’ births in the time capsule. Her bill for her first son was $1,500. The bill now would be around $10,000 for the mom.

Kim Rieger, VP of Marketing, introduced the first baby born in the new addition, Austin Arbogast, with his parents, Jill and Roger. Jill was admitted on July 10, 1995. She was moved from the old building to the new building.

HRMC is a not-for-profit organization providing a range of services through a critical access hospital and a range of outpatient health and wellness services. HRMC serves a population of more than 37,000 in seven countries in eastern-central South Dakota.