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A Century of Devotion

Bethany Circle, King's Daughters'
Hospital have a long history together

The Madison, Ind., institution to be sold
to Norton Healthcare this fall

(August 2021) – King’s Daughters’ Hospital has a rich history in Madison, Ind., that spans exactly 122 years this month. From the moment it was founded by the Bethany Circle in August 1899, the hospital has become a mainstay in the community and leader in healthcare services. Now on the eve of its sale to Norton Healthcare of Louisville, Ky., expected to take place this fall, it is worthwhile to explore founding and history of the hospital.
The Bethany Circle of The King’s Daughters and Sons was created on Oct. 13, 1896. Deeming it a charitable work, a dozen young women who were members of the local Presbyterian Church founded the Bethany Circle, an organization dedicated to developing spiritual life and stimulating Christian activity among its members.

August cover

August 2021 Cover


Their intent was to establish a hospital that could be used by all in the community. “It all started with the gift of a building,” said Brenda Eversole, a former president of The Bethany Circle and Board Chair from 1991-2002.
Although she wasn’t a Bethany Circle member, Drusilla Cravens donated the first building when she first learned of the project, said Eversole. It was a brick building that she dedicated to the memory of her husband, Judge John R. Cravens, a former acting Lt. Governor of Indiana. She was the daughter of J.F.D. Lanier, a wealthy banker and the man behind the building of the Lanier Mansion in Madison.
“The hospital was to provide for the sick, homeless and friendless,” said Eversole, who is very familiar with the history of The Bethany Circle. “Bethany Circle has provided quality healthcare and a lot more for our community throughout the years.”
Bess White Mitchell was a charter member of the Bethany Circle and wrote a “History of Bethany Circle and Hospital” based on her memories. She noted that Cravens “purchased a home in a quiet street and bequeathed it to the Kings’ Daughters’ to be used as a hospital. Thus, we were provided with a handsome two-story brick house of 15 rooms, situated on beautiful grounds, well set with fruit and flowers.”

KDH1899

Photo courtesy of Jefferson County
Historical Society Research Archives

The first King's Daughters' Hospital was opened and dedicated on Aug. 25, 1899.


The original 12 young women put all of their time and energy into the project, following the example put forth by Rowena Stevenson, wife of the Presbyterian Church minister. The women met weekly to stitch garments for the poor and to render aid to families in distress.
It wasn’t long before members visited “a needy home” and “discovered a child, a boy of 11, suffering” from a bone disease that “would necessitate amputation of the lower limb,” Mitchell wrote. Odd as it may seem today, surgeries at that time were performed in the home. Due to the boy’s home being unacceptable for a successful operation, the ladies had to look elsewhere for a place to care for the boy.
“We found a woman with experience as a nurse who was willing to care for our lad,” wrote Mitchell. “Preparations were made for his removal.”
Just when it seemed the child would get the care he needed, the boy’s father refused to let his son be removed to another building for the operation. This setback only made the young women more determined to establish a hospital with competent nurses and doctors in the Madison area.
“From that time forth, our aim was toward such a hospital,” penned Mitchell in her memoir. Knowing how crucial it was to raise funding for their endeavor, the ladies invited women from all surrounding churches in the city to assist them in accomplishing their goal, since the hospital has never been affiliated with one particular church. Before long, their numbers increased to 100, and funds started to come in.

KDHin1979

Photo courtesy of Jefferson County
Historical Society Research Archives

The King's Daughters' Hospital in downtown Madison, Ind., is pictured here in 1989 after several expansions.


During the early years, contributions continued to flow in. Enough was donated so that $1,000 in improvements could be made and the entire house furnished from what was given by charitable organizations, private citizens and secret orders. A trained nurse from Philadelphia was hired as well as a staff of physicians. The hospital received $25 a month from the City Council of Madison, which deemed it a worthy pursuit.
Mitchell writes that it was at that point that “we were ready to receive first, our boy, who was really the originator of the hospital, and then all others, who might need care and skillful nursing.” Other patients included two more charity patients: an injured circus worker and a man suffering from delirium tremens.
On Aug. 25, 1899, a formal dedication of The King’s Daughters’ Hospital was held. In eight short years, the hospital became a state endorsed project. It took in 51 private patients and 18 charity patients in the first year. In December 1915, the decision was made to move to a new 20-room, 25-bed location in downtown Madison.

BrendaEversole

Eversole


Over the years, the hospital had many generous donors, such as Pauline Durant of Boston. Her father had been killed on the Ohio River near Madison and buried by the townspeople. In a charitable gesture, Durant gave $5,000 to the hospital.
“The interest alone of this money is to be used unless at some future time the hospital must be enlarged, when the principal can be used,” Mitchell wrote.
“I’m most proud that we have maintained the mission of our original Bethany members,” said Eversole. Many notable accomplishments were achieved under her guidance, and “we have continued their mission and values, even with all the changes.”

Many expansions occurred over the years

During her tenure, several building and remodeling projects were completed, such as a new Emergency Department, a parking garage, a 50,000-square-foot Medical Office Building, establishment of the Trimble County Medical Building in Milton, Ky., in 1999 and the Switzerland County Medical Building in Vevay, Ind. Eversole, a local Realtor, was involved in the purchase of several physician practices, which included the Madison Clinic. The Cancer Treatment Center was completed in 1994. This allowed cancer patients to receive treatment in Madison and no longer require a daily trip to Louisville. The Lana L. Roberts Diabetes Care Center also opened during Eversole’s time as Board Chair.
“I have really enjoyed seeing many employees accomplish great things” over the years, she said. “We have quality people. I’ve developed many friendships. It truly has been an exceptional experience.”
Eversole and her husband moved to Jefferson County in 1975 due to his job transfer. She said that “after our move, I met Lena Storm through another organization in Madison of which I had been involved in another chapter in my hometown before our move. She asked me to come to Bethany Circle, and I was voted in as a member” in December 1977.
Through the ensuing years, Storm was her mentor and president of Bethany and Board Chair before Eversole. Over time, Eversole has now served in four different offices in Bethany and the Board: Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer, Vice President and President. “This was an invaluable experience.”
She said that as a new member of Bethany, “I enjoyed the fellowship, and many members became my lifelong friends. It was a time of commitment not only to the organization but to the ladies who served before us and their dedication.”
In the beginning, they met the first and third Monday every month except December. Additional meetings were required for board members. The group currently meets the third Monday seven times during the year and has 33 members.
Various additions and upgrades have been made to the hospital property in the last 122 years. The Dr. Thomas and Martha J. Sanderson addition opened on March 28, 1937. A second major addition came in the form of the Dr. Evan Totten Wing, opening on April 5, 1959. By April 1971, a fourth floor was needed and opened with the name, the Drusilla Home Addition, in memory of Cravens.

NancyBear

Bear


The following decade saw even more expansion. In 1979, the hospital increased its bed capacity to 140 beds, and the Rinda F. Rains Wing opened. The wing was named for the former hospital superintendent. Another expansion opened in August 1984. This addition modernized the hospital and added two floors to the top of the Rinda F. Rains Wing.
In 1985 the Emergency Medical Program and the Home Health Department was established. In 1992, the KDH Rehabilitation Center opened on the hilltop in Madison. The spring of 1995 saw a new Emergency Department completed. Many local physicians joined the hospital team when KDH purchased the Madison Clinic in 1996.
In August 1999, the hospital celebrated its 100th anniversary by throwing a community party. The organization changed its name to King’s Daughters’ Hospital and Health Services. It committed to $100,000 annually in grants for other community organizations working to improve the health of local communities.
Pushing into the next decade, the hospital held a groundbreaking for a new campus on the Madison hilltop in 2010. The building opened in early 2013. Two years later, a new Cancer Treatment Center opened on the main campus.

Bethany Circle enjoyed strong leadership

When a member is elected to become president of Bethany Circle, that person also becomes the Chair of the Board of Managers. Nancy Bear became the president and Board Chair for the four years following Eversole and was on the board for 21 years. Bear joined the Bethany Circle in March 1980. She and Eversole have the longest active memberships.
Bear was invited to join by her husband’s grandmother, Mary Bear. “She was in it a long time,” said Nancy Bear. “It was a tradition within the Bear family that some of the wives became members of Bethany.”

KDHhospital2021

Photo by Don Ward

King's Daughters' Hospital opened its new facility at 1373 E. Hwy. 62 on the Madison hilltop in early 2013. KDH still retains a presence in downtown Madison as well as physician offices in Versailles, Hanover and Vevay in Indiana, and Milton and Carrollton in Kentucky. Additional services include a Cancer Treatment Center, a Rehab Center and Convenient Care Center.


“She was a member when the hospital was really struggling,” said Bear. “She and the other members canned food, helped clean, had annual rummage sales and did a lot of work. In some cases, they even covered the payroll. They really worked hard to create the legacy they left to all of us.”
They did so well that at one time membership of the Bethany Circle was huge. “They had to cut it off because it had gotten so large. People wanted to be a part of and support it.”
Bear said she ended her tenure “with the decision to close the hospital down and move to the hilltop. It was a difficult thing to do. It was an infrastructure issue, and we had no choice but to do that.” But everything worked out for the best, and it became “my greatest accomplishment while president and Board Chair,” she said.
Bear said the hospital has come a long way since its beginnings. At one time, the hospital “was referred to by some as a band aid station,” even though many in the community know it has always been much more.
“We have been fortunate over the years to attract some top-notch physicians” that have provided exceptional services to the community, she said. “With a community the size of Madison, we learned how very fortunate we were. It has been something the community wanted and deserved.”
Annie Schroeder has been the current president of the Bethany Circle and Board Chair for the last two years. She has been a member for 20 years and was invited to join by a friend.

AnnieSchroeder

Schroeder


She said Bethany Circle members have always been committed to offering their work, “In His Name,” as their motto states. The Bethany Circle has continued throughout the years to “serve the community and help support the hospital.”
Schroeder said the group is “still driven by the same mission” as the one the founders established in 1899. Now faced with different challenges for the future, current members have spent a lot of time thinking about what the core vision of the hospital is and how to stay true to it, while continuing to provide the quality healthcare to which the community is accustomed.
Schroeder remembers the 100th anniversary milestone in 1999 and called it a “big celebration.” She said there are so many people who keep the hospital going – the staff and employees who were there and are an important part of its history. “Many of our employees have family members who also work at the hospital.”
It is hoped that by those in the community that none of that will change, although as with anything, change is inevitable.
Mike Gough, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Norton Healthcare, told Business First of Louisville newspaper in March 2020 that plans are in the final stages for Norton Healthcare Inc. to take over King’s Daughters’ Health from the Bethany Circle of King’s Daughters’ in fall 2021. A Letter of Intent was signed on Nov. 16, 2020, enabling both healthcare systems an opportunity to explore the possibility of a partnership. After the deal closes, it will be part of the Norton system, he said.
Officials and KDH Health CEO Carol Dozier said they were not at liberty to discuss the pending sale and transition at this time.
As the landscape of healthcare continues to change, some believe sharing additional resources and expertise between KDH and Norton Healthcare will benefit patients, physicians, team members and the community. Some see the acquisition as an opportunity to ensure that the hospital will remain an integral part of the community for a long time to come, just as its founders envisioned.
“I think there is a sense of pride in this hospital and what it means to the community,” said Eversole. “The community sees how important the hospital is to the overall quality of life. It has an amazing legacy.”

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