Their story is our story.
Coming of age 1952-1968
After 34 years during which change seemed to be the only constant, St. Charles settled into a quiet equilibrium during the 1950s and 1960s.
Sister Blanche served as hospital administrator through 1952. In 17 years in that position, she had cemented the hospital’s relationship with the community. The Central Oregon Hospitals Foundation had helped put it on solid financial footing.
Except for a 38-bed addition in 1958, St. Charles Memorial Hospital made few physical changes.
This era was anything but settled in the world. It saw the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, the beginning of the civil rights movement and manned space flight. The medical world saw the development of a polio vaccine and the laser in the 1950s. The ‘60s brought Medicare, the first heart transplant and a Rubella vaccine.
For St. Charles, it was a time of building a strong medical staff and preparing for the next wave of change.