Time capsule from old hospital opened during National Hospital Week

[May 12, 2011]  Employees gathered on the outdoor patio at the new Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital on Wednesday to pay homage to the organization's mission and history by opening the time capsule that was placed in the old hospital's cornerstone on Oct. 12, 1952.

Pictured are Mary Conrady and Dolan Dalpoas opening the time capsule.

"I thought it was very special to see the opening of the time capsule," said Dianne Eigenbrod, manager of environmental services. "It was interesting to see how some of the medical instruments have advanced."

Among the medical items inside were a glass syringe, an obstetrics stethoscope, a scalpel, forceps and a baby bottle. Alongside them were historical artifacts such as a photo of Deaconess Hospital, a photo of the hospital board, a list of employees, a six-page history of the hospital, a copy of the Oct. 10, 1952, Courier and coins with etched names of the leaders who helped with the hospital project.

Construction of the old hospital began in 1952, and the doors opened in 1954 with then-administrator Emil Stahlhut throwing away the keys in a symbolic moment to testify that the doors to the community hospital would never be closed. Dolan Dalpoas, president and chief executive officer of ALMH, repeated that gesture in March at the new ALMH ribbon-cutting.

On Wednesday, as patients watched from second-story windows, Dalpoas and Mary Conrady, who chairs the ALMH board, opened the copper time capsule and revealed the items that have been tucked away for nearly 60 years.

"These artifacts not only tell a story about health care in the 1950s and how much medicine has changed, but they also reveal our hospital's dedication to its mission," Dalpoas said. "We are grateful for the past and also for the future. Our new building ensures that we can continue to improve health in our community and extend care for generations to come."

A display of the items from the time capsule is being planned for this summer within the hospital's history wall in the east corridor that links the lobby to the Woods Café. Information will be forthcoming on when the display will be unveiled.

Eigenbrod said that as she watched Dalpoas and Conrady remove items from the time capsule, she imagined what we would leave behind today for the next generation of health care providers.

"My thoughts were placing (customer satisfaction) survey results in the capsule to show how we measure our success of satisfaction with patients that we serve," she says. "I hope patient satisfaction will still be the first priority of health care providers of the future as well."

[Text from file received from Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital]