Mt. Pleasant celebrates legacy of Sanpete Valley Hospital
MT. PLEASANT—Current and former Sanpete residents gathered on Saturday for the Mt. Pleasant Pioneer Day luncheon to share memories of the Sanpete LDS Hospital, now Sanpete Valley Hospital, which first opened in 1949.
About 100 people attended the event, which centered on an oral history of the hospital. The event was coordinated by the Mt. Pleasant Pioneer Historical Association.
After lunch, a microphone was passed to anyone who wanted to share a memory of the hospital. Many of the memories people shared seemed to evoke an emotional nostalgia, as events 30, 40, or 50 years ago were remembered “as if it was yesterday.”
Many in attendance said they had been born at the hospital, and some also had their own children there years later.
Annette Jacobs Hansen said she had three children born at the hospital, in 1970, 1972 and 1974. With her first child, Hansen said she stayed at the hospital for five days, and the medical bill only came to $150.
Others recalled surgical operations, such as appendix and tonsil removals. One gentleman told a story about his hospital visit in 1954. He was skipping school with a couple friends, and they had built a bonfire. Searching for some entertainment, the friends fired some bullets into the fire.
One unlucky bounce and a bullet lodged into the man’s thigh. A quick visit to the hospital and a successful operation removed most of the shrapnel.
Dixie Spencer, who retired from the hospital in 1995 as the director of medical records, got emotional when she recalled her time at the hospital. Spencer started working at the hospital in 1972 as a secretary.
“I loved all the people, all the doctors and nurses, couldn’t be a better place than Sanpete… a wonderful place for a hospital,”
Only three days after the hospital was dedicated, Scott Johansen was the first baby born there on May 4. Johansen’s sister was at the event on Saturday, and said, “The hospital played a big part in our family’s life.”
In addition to her brother’s birth, her mother worked as a nurse at the hospital, retiring right before the Sanpete LDS Hospital closed to become the Sanpete Valley Hospital in 1975.
The Sanpete Valley Hospital was operated by the non-profit hospital system Intermountain Health, according to a history written by Galen Fletcher. The history states 10 years later, a new hospital facility was constructed at the site of the current hospital today.
The same Scott Johansen, first baby born at the hospital in 1949, cut the ribbon celebrating the grand opening of Sanpete Valley Hospital on July 19, 1984.