The history of Boone Hospital Center

COLUMBIA — On May 30, 1920, construction began on what would become the Boone County Hospital. The hospital, which cost $175,000, became the first public hospital in Boone County. It opened with six nurses and 21 other employees. It had 40 patient beds, operating rooms, an X-ray room, a heating plant and a laundry room.

Now called Boone Hospital Center, it is a full-service hospital with 388 beds, 2,000 staff members and 350 physicians. And it is still growing. In the fall of 2007 construction began on a 900-car parking garage on William Street. Also, this year the hospital plans to break ground on a 128-bed patient care tower that will be connected to the garage by an indoor covered bridge.

Steven Adams, media relations specialist at Boone Hospital Center, said it excels in the departments of neurology, oncology, obstetric services and cardiology, as well as other specialties.

In 2001, Modern Healthcare magazine and U.S. News and World Report named Boone Hospital Center among the top 100 orthopedic hospitals in the nation. Also in 2001, Modern Healthcare named the hospital among the top 100 cardiovascular hospitals.

Shortly after it opened in December 1921, Frank Nifong and Andrew W. McAlester performed the first surgery. According to the hospital’s records, the patient, Robert E. Little, was a local plumber who paid his bill by installing a scrub sink.

On Christmas Eve of that year, the hospital delivered its first baby.

In 1981, Boone County Hospital became the Boone Hospital Center. The Columbia Missourian reported that Jack Estes, board chairman at the time, said the name was a better fit.

“It’s very heavy on a trustee to change tradition,” Estes said. “But we feel this better identifies the hospital as a center of health care than just ‘a county hospital.’”

Seven years later, in September of 1988, the board of trustees leased the hospital to Christian Health Services. Barbara Weaver, chairwoman of the board of trustees, said they were worried about the future of the hospital.

“There was a lot of uncertainty of the viability of county hospitals at that time,” Weaver said.

Weaver said the board of trustees spent around two years searching for the right answer for the hospital.

“We looked at every scenario that was possible at that time,” she said.

She said options included selling, management agreements, leasing, and even talks with MU. But after the study, the trustees decided to lease to Christian Health. The original lease was for 10 years with the option of a five-year extension. Weaver said that was the right decision.

“Their value system and how they provided care and the standards that they had meshed the best with Boone hospital and our philosophy of care,” she said.

She also said it was the best decision for the county as well as the hospital.

“We wanted to keep it as a county hospital for the very reason at that very time it was the county’s most valuable asset,” she said. “Also, we wanted to maintain some control over what happens here.”

When Christian Health Services and Barnes Jewish Inc. merged in 1993 to become Barnes Jewish Christian, Weaver said the challenge of the lease was that now the administration not only had to work with Barnes Jewish Christian but also with the trustees and Boone community.

“It’s sort of almost like having two bosses,” she said. “They are all BJC employees, but they are responsible also to the 29 counties that they serve.”

Since the hospital signed the lease in 1988, the terms have been renegotiated twice, once in 2001 and once in 2006. Weaver said one of the most important things to come out of the last negotiation in 2006 was that Barnes Jewish Christian now annually pays $10 million toward the hospital’s debt service, which is paid by the revenue generated by the hospital.

Also in the lease, the hospital must spend 7 percent of gross revenue for capital expenditures. It is spent on things such as new equipment and renovations to keep the hospital up to date. If the lease, which lasts until 2015, should end early, the hospital still keeps all equipment purchased from the 7 percent fund.

Barnes Jewish Christian also pays the county government about $1.5 million in rent and $500,000 to be spent on health care for the county. By next year, the revenue will be split with Barnes Jewish Christian receiving 25 percent, the board of trustees receiving 25 percent and Boone Hospital Center receiving 50 percent. Barnes Jewish Christian and the board of trustees jointly make the decision on what to do with the 50 percent received by the hospital.

Boone Hospital Center has expanded several times during its nearly 87 years. Expansions include a $3 million, six-story east wing in 1959, the construction of the Broadway Medical Plaza buildings in 2007 and completion of the Center for Advanced Medicine that provides a space for medical testing and diagnostic technology in 2006.

The most recent of these additions is the new Spine Center. The 14,784 square foot unit, dedicated to back pain and orthopedics, includes 20 private rooms, a satellite gym, a family activity and relaxation room, redesigned nurses station and classrooms for pre-operation classes.

Adams, of the media relations office, said the hospital is trying to provide 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week emergency care to stroke victims. He said doctors in the radiology department not only have the latest technology in digital imaging, but also utilize the Merci retriever procedure. This procedure, while removing blood clots from the brain, extends the treatment time for strokes.

Weaver said staying on top of technology is one of the things that makes Boone Hospital Center special.

"We continue to stay on the forefront of technology,” she said. “We were the first hospital in Columbia to have an MRI.”

She also said another important quality of the hospital is the people.

“Boone is special because of the people and the standard of care that we expect people to provide,” she said. “Our physicians are absolutely of the highest of quality.”

Adams agreed.

“Really, I think what makes Boone special is the people that work inside the building,” he said. “We have a history of having a great staff. There is a tradition of excellence.”