The Richland community has much to celebrate during this National Hospital Week, May 9-15. The staff at the Richland Hospital, along with the County Public Health and Emergency Response teams, took the lead in addressing the Covid pandemic from early on. During those first few months, adapting to the newly reorganized clinic and hospital structure added challenges.
I signed up early when the opportunity came up for a vaccination. I’ve heard others say that they had an experience like mine that day in the Pippin meeting rooms – a very efficient process and a sense of the beginning of the lift of burden of isolation and anxiety. The recognition by Madison television stations made Richland County a destination for more than our usual attractions.
Over a span of almost 100 years, the turning points in our lives have happened at the hospital. “I was born there” is a phrase that we hear throughout the area. We have shared births, struggles with an illness or an injury, and loss of loved ones with caring staff members who might have faded from our memories, but were never-the-less people who helped us through these moments. As local residents, we appreciate that we have a hospital with the caring and talented people who work there. We thank them from the bottoms of our hearts.
As health care has become more complex and as diagnoses and treatments have expanded, so has the physical and organizational structure of the hospital. At the center of every expansion is the dedication of the community to keeping our hospital in Richland Center. While a trip to Madison or La Crosse for entertainment might be fun, a long drive for medical care or support for our families in a medical crisis is not! Staff members appreciate a chance to work in their profession without a long daily drive for work. We need to continue to support our local hospital.
The theme of National Hospital Week is “Inspiring Hope through Healing.” As we heal from the effects of the pandemic, we can be assured that the Richland Hospital will be here for us, and will continue to grow to meet the increasingly complex demands for our health and our health care system.
—Marilyn Rinehart
Chair, Richland Hospital Board of Directors