What do you know about your local hospital’s long history? Maybe your grandmother was born in the original hospital on Court Street in Honesdale. Maybe she worked there. To mark its centennial this year, Wayne Memorial Hospital produced five short videos that look back at the hospital’s origins and bring the viewer right up to today. Embedded in the videos are clues to help answer trivia questions which can be found, along with the videos, on the Centennial Trivia Contest page on this website, https://www.wmh.org/centennial-trivia-contest. All correct answers will be entered into a random drawing for a Visa gift card. Five winners will be picked on Saturday, September 19th , when the hospital unveils a centennial mural painted by local artist Juan Espino. All winners will be notified via email. To enter, send your answers to askwmh@wmh.org. Participants can enter only one answer per question, but can answer all five questions. Everyone is eligible, including employees of Wayne Memorial Health System and Community Health Centers.
Wayne Memorial Hospital was founded by a concerned group of citizens who raised $52,000 to buy and eventually convert the Dimmick Mansion into a hospital, complete with an ER, OR, maternity unit, wards for men and women and private rooms. In 1951, a new modern hospital opened on Park Street, where the current hospital stands today.
Wayne Memorial was forced to cancel a big centennial celebration planned for September 19th, but several other events are underway – including the trivia contest and the mural! In May, the hospital was rededicated to all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. It had been dedicated previously to veterans only from Wayne and Pike counties. A plaque was installed near the main entrance during a small ceremony attended by only hospital and local VFW and American Legion leadership.
More videos showing historic photos of the hospital’s founding and subsequent decades can be found on the hospital’s website at www.wmh.org/our-centennial.