Hospital History
On October 1, 1919 Victory Memorial Hospital opened it doors to its first patients. The hospital began in what was known as the "Park Avenue House" which had been purchased from the Northwestern Lumber Company for $4,500. In 1949 the hospital became a nonprofit organization. A $200,000 addition to the hospital opened on May 13, 1951 and the hospital then had 45 beds. In November 1959 another addition was added and a 32-bed nursing home was opened. In August 1967 another major addition was added which housed a 45-bed nursing home. In 1970 a fourth floor was added and the facility was licensed to care for 86 nursing home residents. Various other construction projects added to the facility in 1973, 1978 and 1986.
In 1995 Ministry Health Care, a ministry of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mothers in Milwaukee, took over operation of the Victory Medical Center. In 2001 planning began for a new hospital. In June 2001 Victory Medical Center announced that its nursing home would close. In 2002 Victory Medical Center purchased 30 acres of land for a new facility from the City of Stanley.
"State-of-the-Art" Health Care in Rural Location
Ministry Health Care opened Our Lady of Victory Hospital-a new 72,000 square foot, $20 million, 24-bed hospital on November 12, 2003-located in Stanley, on Highway 29. The facility is furnished with new equipment and furnishings and features all private inpatient rooms, critical care services, comprehensive inpatient and outpatient surgery, integrated diagnostic and treatment services, attached outpatient clinic, comprehensive rehab center, dialysis center, and ER/Urgent Care service. The new hospital is supported by 12 active medical staff physicians and physician assistants in internal medicine and family practice, as well as 12 specialty physicians in the areas of Orthopedics, Urology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Podiatry, OB/GYN, Women's Health Services, Nephrology and Hypertension, Physical Medicine, and Rehabilitation and General Surgery.For more information about the hospital and the comprehensive rehab center, visit www.ministryhealth.org.
Other Stanley Health Care Services
The HOMEPLACE of Stanley opened in November of 2005, providing senior health care apartments in the former "Victory Medical Center" near downtown Stanley. Apartments feature a kitchenette, living room, separate bedroom and private bath with shower. The HOMEPLACE motto, “Come Home to Our Care” is their way of saying that care needs of tenants can be met completely within the privacy of one's own apartment. "This type of living also known as Residential Care Apartment Complex (RCAC) is considerably less expensive than a nursing home," explain owners Jill and Jim Tallman. In addition to healthcare services, The HOMEPLACE also provides housekeeping, individual laundry, local transportation, family style meals and planned activities. The 24/7 facility staff is able to provide health care service around the clock. The HOMEPLACE also has created a Haven memory care floor for those who develop Alzheimer's and other dementias. The recently opened 5th Avenue Simply Care provides age-in-place alternative apartments for all seniors whether a few or many services are needed (up to full RCAC care). These residences offer a continuum of care and are all walkable to the library, churches, downtown restaurants, shops, banks, a movie house and other services. Also located in the ground floor is Alberta May’s Restaurant which additionally serves the general public. "Stanley is fortunate to have had its old hospital retrofitted into this complex and at the same time a second life was given to a building that has had a lot of emotional attachment to the community," explain the Tallmans.