125 Years of Compassionate Care

125 Years of Compassionate Care

Commemorative coin hunt

Starting Saturday, June 20, explore beautiful Geneseo during the Music Fest celebration and uncover one of 125 hidden coins tucked away in parks, local shops, and throughout downtown — each one easy to find. No digging, tree climbing, or sifting through items — all will be hidden in plain sight. Each coin is a piece of history and your ticket to something special! As of July 6, 34 of the 125 coins have been found. If you find a coin, please submit a .jpg electronically to stephaniedemay@hammondhenry.com which we will include in our 125th Anniversary history pages.

Participating businesses around Geneseo will have a sign in their windows indicating a commemorative coin has been hidden inside. If you do not see a sign, there is no coin hidden at that particular business, or someone has already collected the coin. Once you find or receive a coin, please take it to the Admitting Desk at the North Entrance of the hospital (600 N. College Ave., Geneseo) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to obtain your prize. Please do not return coins during the weekend.

Each coin is made from durable metal and features a unique design: one side is engraved with our 125 Year Anniversary logo, while the other showcases an image of the hospital. They are two inches high by two inches wide and about a quarter inch thick.

For more information or to send your photo, contact stephaniedemay@hammondhenry.com.

Our History

Join us in celebrating our 125^th anniversary with fun events all year long. Check this page for updates so you don’t miss out!

1901-1923: The Foundation of Care

1901 — The history of Hammond-Henry Hospital dates back to 1901 when Mr. John C. Hammond purchased the former home of Major James M. Allen, originally known as the Northwestern Normal Dormitory and later, the J.C. Hammond House. It was presented to the City of Geneseo, along with $1,000 to repair the heating apparatus, fixtures for electrical lighting, and operating room equipment. The hospital was founded by John C. Hammond on June 20, 1901, but J.C. Hammond Hospital did not officially open until Nov. 28, 1901.
1906 — The first Board of Directors was appointed by the Mayor of Geneseo.
1914 — By 1914, the hospital had outgrown its original building. Six new rooms and an elevator were added at a cost of $10,000. This made room for an x-ray department and laboratory.
1923 — The Nurses’ Home, a bungalow, was erected on College Avenue to support the growing staff at a cost of $6,000.

1939-1954: A Growing District Landmark

1939 — A new wing opened on National Hospital Day (May 12), increasing capacity to 20 beds and adding a new operating room.
1947 — The Illinois Legislature passed the Hospital Authority Act. During the fall of that year, various interested individuals in Geneseo and the surrounding area met to discuss the possibility of forming such a district for this area. As a result of those meetings, petitions were circulated requesting that such a district be formed, and on January 9,1948, a petition signed by approximately 1,000 voters was filed with the Henry County Court requesting that a hospital district be formed.
1948 — As a result of the petition's filing, an election was held on April 22,1948. The vote was three to one in favor of establishing the district. On May 11,1948, the County Court entered an order forming a district and appointed commissioners of the district. Since the Hospital Authority Act was a new law, it was necessary that its constitutionality be determined. Before the local hospital authorities could take complete action to have this done, a case arose from Morrison, IL, where an attempt was being made to form such a district The result of that case in the Illinois Supreme Court in November of 1948 held that the law did not fulfill all constitutional requirements and was therefore void. Various organizations throughout the state which were interested in the hospital authority law worked with the Illinois Department of Public Health, and changes were made in order to comply with the objections raised by the Supreme Court.
1949 — The revised Hospital District Law of 1949 was presented to the Legislature during its session. The law passed.
1950 — In February, petitions for the creation of the Henry Hospital District, under the authority of the 1949 law were circulated and filed. As a result of that action, an election was held on April 24,1950, and the voters voted by a majority of five to two to establish the Henry Hospital District. The original directors appointed by the County Court on May 15,1950, were Mrs. Henry Waterman and W.E. Snow of Geneseo; Mrs. Earl Sergeant and William S. Angerer of Atkinson; Milford Heller of Loraine Township; Darrell Miller of Osco Township; Mrs. Vincent Weber of Phenix Township; Samuel Wainwright of Zuma Township, Rock Island County; and Alfred B. Colby of Cornwall Township. After Cornwall Township was subsequently detached, Wesley Larson of Munson Township was appointed to take Mr. Colby's place.
1951 — During the winter, negotiations were entered into with the City of Geneseo for the transfer of the J.C. Hammond Hospital facilities to the district.
1952 — The Henry Hospital District assumed operation through transfer of J.C. Hammond Hospital from the City of Geneseo April 1. The institution is officially renamed Hammond-Henry District Hospital. Clement G. McNamara was hired as administrator of the Hammond-Henry District Hospital in October.
1953 — Mr. McNamara and an architect contracted by the hospital immediately began plans for a new building, Six hundred and twenty thousand dollars in bonds were issued in 1953.
1954 — A new 50-bed addition opened on December 11, following a $750,000 total investment.

1960-1984: Modernization & Community Service

1960 — The Hammond-Henry Hospital Auxiliary was chartered as a not-for-profit corporation. The “Pink Ladies” volunteer group had been established earlier.
1963 — In January, the Board of Directors announced a proposed $1.5 million dollar building program. To finance the project, an area-wide public fundraising campaign was conducted, which raised $400,000.
1965 — The hospital district issued general obligation bonds in the amount of $550,000 and the hospital received a federal Hill-Burton grant of $372,000. Ground was broken on this building project on April 7, 1965.
1968 — This $1.5 million building project increased total bed capacity from 62 beds to 110 and expanded dietary, laboratory, X-ray, and ER departments as well as the business office and boiler room. Also, physical therapy, pharmacy, medical records, occupational therapy, the dental clinic, and solarium were either new or remodeled quarters. Construction was completed in 1968.
1971 — The Hammond-Henry Hospital Volunteer Services Department was officially established.
1972 — The Hammond House was repurposed as temporary housing for prospective and new physicians on the second floor and meeting rooms on the first floor. Also, the Social Services Department opened.
1974 — The department of Inservice Education was established.
1975-1980 — In April 1975, specialized care grew with the proposal and 1978 opening of the $1.05 million A.W. Wellstein Coronary Care Unit (CCU) plus expansion of emergency services. Two physicians’ offices were constructed adjacent to Hammond House during this five-year period as well.
1978 — The Board of Directors and the Medical Staff unanimously recommended the expansion and modernization project, and ground was broken for the Coronary Care Unit in November of 1978. The two-story CCU provided space for expanded emergency and outpatient services, medical records, admitting office, doctor consultation and dictation, and library area. The second story provided a new, intensive CCU. The service area was fully remodeled, and its subsequent expansion specifically included the recovery room, surgery, anesthesia, respiratory therapy, laboratory, and obstetrics.
1984 — Emergency care reached a new milestone with the start of 24-hour ER physician coverage.

1986-2008: Expanding the Reach

1986 — Home Health Services launched in July.
1992 — In April, expansion and remodeling of the new obstetrics services' area was completed.
1994 — A $6.5 million, 30,000-square-foot addition opened to meet the growing demand for outpatient services. This addition housed imaging, admitting, and the emergency departments. The Imaging Department now had separate rooms for the CT scanner, x-ray, ultrasound, mammography, and processing. In September, the Board signed a contract with Brim Health Care, Inc., an Oregon-based hospital management firm. In November, the Board voted to hire The Physical Therapy Center, Davenport, to run its PT Department, at an annual cost of $228,000. That agreement ran through 2001 when therapy services began through Hammond-Henry Hospital staff.
1995 — In January, Hammond-Henry Hospital's mammography machine was accredited by the American College of Radiology's Mammography Accreditation Program.
1996 — Mobile MRI services began. In September, purchases totaling $110,000 were approved by the Board for a camera and x-ray equipment used in orthopedic treatment.
1999 — In March, the Hammond-Henry Hospital Foundation is established to raise funds and support for hospital expansion and development.
2000 — In May, the Cardiac Rehabilitation Phase II Program was opened. The program is an outpatient exercise program for persons with cardiac conditions and is designed to help patients recover faster and return to full and productive lives sooner.
2001-2002 — A longstanding contract for therapy services ended, and Hammond-Henry Hospital transitioned rehabilitation services to an in-house therapy team. On June 25, 2001, ground was broken for the 29,000-square-foot Physicians and Surgery Center and completed in 2002. The center on the second floor included an operating room, a special procedure room, and an endoscopy suite. Also, a Same Day Services Wing featured private rooms and bathrooms for patients, a Pre-Admission Teaching Room, and a separate waiting room. In July 2002, two primary care physician practices in Geneseo relocated to the new medical office facility, which was constructed west of the 1994 addition, bringing both primary care clinics onsite.
2003 — The heliport was constructed.
2004-2005 — In May, ground is broken on the $6.2 million “Patient Comfort Project” which added a third floor to the hospital, with 23 inpatient beds. The new floor created a healing environment that accommodated technological advances and was flexible to meet the needs of Hammond-Henry Hospital well into the future. The floor included 23 inpatient beds for critical care, medical-surgical, and obstetrical care. The project also included a new plant services building south of the Skilled/Extended Care building. Also, the Geneseo Summit Program, a sports medicine program, began its partnership with the Geneseo School District. The Summit started in a storage facility, located on the west end of Geneseo. in 2005, The Summit relocated to the Geneseo Foundation Athletic Center (GFAC). The Summit includes wellness classes and athletic training services. This marked the start of the sports medicine program at Hammond-Henry Hospital.
2005 — Hammond-Henry Hospital begins its orthopedic joint replacement program with three separate orthopedic surgeons participating.
2006 — A new 16-slice CT scan was acquired.
2007 — The Sleep Disorder Center opened.
2008 — The Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program began with the Rehab Services Department.
2009 — Hammond-Henry Hospital's Orthopedic Services Department was performing over 100 joint replacement surgeries per year.

2009-2026: Innovation for the Future

2009 — The Colona Clinic project broke ground in March and was completed by October. Also, patient satisfaction rates for outpatient surgery and the emergency department climbed to the top four percent in the nation Two years earlier, the Board of Directors had established a goal to be in the Top 10 percent of all hospitals for patient satisfaction, superseding the goal.
2010-2012 — The $22 million “Designed to Be Patient Kind” building project — the largest in hospital history — upgraded the Long-Term Care Living Center, Rehab Center (including the Colo Aquatic Center), and Imaging Department. More than half of the existing hospital space was replaced. This project also included the building of a new kitchen/dining room, gift shop, conference rooms, offices, and a loading dock for materials management. Hammond-Henry Hospital Long Term Care Living Center earns the Center for Medicare and Medicaid's (CMS) "5-Star" quality rating in 2011 and 2012.
2013 — HHH Long Term Care Living Center earns the Center for Medicare and Medicaid's (CMS) "5-Star" quality rating.
2014 — Hammond-Henry Hospital is named one of the "Top 100" Critical Access Hospitals in the nation by iVantage Hospital Strength Index, the industry's most comprehensive rating of US acute care hospitals, and the only one to include the country's 1,300 CAHs. Hammond-Henry Hospital is also named as one of the "100 Great Community Hospitals" by Becker's Hospital Review in June, and in July, Hammond-Henry achieves Stage 6 on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model through the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Stage 6 hospitals are noted for several achievements, including their investment and an organization-wide commitment to an IT transition. They also demonstrate an advantage in patient safety and clinical support and for their progress in strategic alignment with their medical staffs to effectively utilize information technology to improve coordination of care. HHH Long Term Care Living Center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2015 — Hammond-Henry Hospital is named one of the nation's "Most Wired" Hospitals, according to Hospitals and Health Networks (H&HN), an American Hospital Association publication. Hammond-Henry Hospital is also recognized as a "HealthStrong Top Hospital" based on iVantage Health Analytics' INDEX measures. For outpatient market share, inpatient market share, population risk, cost, charge, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, and financial stability, HHH was ranked 89.3% nationwide. Hammond-Henry is also named among Becker's Hospital Review's "50 Critical Access Hospitals to Know," the "Most Wired" by H&HN, and the Emergency Department is named a 2015 "Guardian of Excellence" award winner. HHH Long Term Care Living Center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2016 — 3D tomosyntheses, mammography, and the Da Vinci Robot were acquired. Hammond-Henry receives Providigm's "Embracing Quality Award for Achievement" in superior levels of customer satisfaction in 2016 and 2017. Only 328 nursing centers out of more than 15,000 in the US and Ontario received awards. HHH Long Term Care Living Center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2017 — Hammond-Henry assumed sole ownership of Regional Health Partners, operating clinics in Geneseo, Colona, Annawan, and Kewanee. The Geneseo Clinic opened in October and the Hospitalist Program also began. Hammond-Henry earns "Most Wired" designation, Becker's Hospital Review's "One of 62 CAHs to Know," and HHH Long Term Care Living Center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2018 — The Annawan Walk-in Clinic opened. Hammond-Henry is named Becker's Hospital Reviews "One of 66 CAHs to Know," and HHH Long Term Living Center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating. Hammond-Henry is also award ISO 9001 Certification by DNV GL-Healthcare. HHH is one of only 34 CAHs in the nation to receive this certification.
2019 — The Emergency Department was expanded to add both rooms and a patient entrance separate from ambulances. Hammond-Henry is named "One of 67 CAHs to Know" and HHH Long Term Care Living Center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2020 — HHH Regional Health Partners became HHH Medical Group. The Kewanee and Annawan clinics began offering X-ray services. Hammond-Henry Hospital receives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid's (CMS) star rating for Patient Experience, scored in publicly reported measures in the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey. HHH Long Term Care Living center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2020-2021 — The hospital responded to COVID-19 with a drive-thru respiratory clinic, with the laboratory recording about 45,000 tests per month. The ROSA Orthopedic Robot was also acquired. Hammond-Henry Hospital receives CMS "5-Star" rating in 2021 and HHH Long Term Care Living Center earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2022 — Renovations to the laboratory were completed to accommodate additional equipment and provide better access for patients. Hammond-Henry Hospital receives CMS "5-Star" rating and HHH Long Term Care earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2023 — Hammond-Henry Hospital named among "2023 Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals" by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. HHH Long Term Care earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2024 — Hammond-Henry Hospital's Colona Clinic voted overall healthcare clinic winner in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas by Locals Love Us, a national franchise that identifies and promotes the best local businesses in a community through an annual online survey where locals vote. HHH Long Term Care earns CMS "5-Star" quality rating.
2025 — A full-scale transformation of Electronic Health Records was completed with the transition to the EPIC system. An ABUS machine was acquired for Women’s Health. Hammond-Henry Hospital is voted the "Best Hospital of the Quad Cities" by the general public. HHH Cardiac Rehab Department celebrates 25 years of service and HHH also receives CMS "5-Star" quality rating for hospital cleanliness and nurse communication.
2026 — Hammond-Henry Hospital Long Term Care Living Center is named among 2026 "Best Nursing Homes" by U.S. World and News Report. Hammond-Henry Hospital is also named among the "Top Three Hospitals" in the Quad Cities by the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal and among "18 New Hospitals Patients Would Highly Recommend" by Becker's Hospital Review. Hammond-Henry Specialty Clinic physicians complete 1,000 da Vinci robotic-assisted procedure. HHH is also celebrating 125 years of caring for our community with the theme: “Generations of Healthy Generations.”

Looking Forward: A 125-Year Legacy

“Generations of Healthy Generations”

For 125 years, Hammond-Henry Hospital has stood as a promise to our neighbors. Our journey from a single house in 1901 to a state-of-the-art facility today is driven by one mission: to improve the quality of life in our communities through excellence in healthcare.

As we look to the next century, we remain dedicated to providing Medical Excellence Close to Home. We will continue to deliver a broad spectrum of superior, evidence-based care in an atmosphere of teamwork and innovative thinking. Here, our patients will always enjoy an excellent experience while our staff finds inspiration and joy in their work. We’re honored to be your partners in health for the generations of today and all the generations to come.