12 Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas Mayers gave to me....
A hospital in the valley
Mayers Memorial Hospital was first formed in the hearts and
minds of Dr. and Mrs. Howard Mayers, who arrived in the Intermountain region in
1938. Like many country doctors, Dr.
Mayers received much of his pay in produce and often gave up his own bed to a patient
who needed care. Over the years, Dr.
& Mrs. Mayers began to envision a hospital that would provide the needs of
residents in these rural communities. He realized this would draw new providers
to the area; give residents timely emergency, surgical and obstetric care
locally; and reduce the need for elderly residents to leave their families and
support systems once they became in need of long term care.
In 1951, Dr. Mayers held a meeting in his home to share his
vision with local citizens. As he presented the benefits a local hospital would
bring, it did not take long for key community leaders to join him in his
vision. Enthusiasm spread very quickly and the community eagerly backed his
plan.
Only one month later, long before the hospital could become a reality,
Dr. Mayers and his wife were killed in a tragic automobile accident. Broken hearted by the loss but motivated to
carry on the dream, the residents of Fall River Mills and surrounding
communities began to raise funds to build a rural community hospital in memory
of Dr. and Mrs. Mayers. Anna McArthur, one of the community’s local residents,
donated land on which to build the hospital. Numerous residents joined forces
to raise the funds necessary to realize their goal.
A daunting task for any community, raising enough money to
build a hospital would likely not have been feasible for this rural region if
not for Bing Crosby, one of the part-time residents of the Intermountain area.
With help from community organizers, Mr. Crosby agreed to put on a benefit show
to help raise the necessary funds. What
began as a small show in the garden of the Jack Martin’s Rising River Ranch skyrocketed
into a gala production at the Intermountain Fairgrounds.
Local residents were the driving force in the
planning and organizing of this incredible event, and Bing Crosby, Phil Harris
and other Hollywood celebrities helped draw crowds from well beyond the region.
Needless to say, the fundraiser was a great success. A year later, at the
request of local community members, Mr. Crosby and friends produced a second
show to help finance the furnishings and equipment for Mayers Memorial Hospital.
Construction of the 10-bed building was completed in March 1956. In the early
years, Mayers Memorial was largely volunteer-operated. In the late 1960s
various regulations and the need for increased operational funding led the
community to establish Mayers Memorial as a District Hospital, which provided
the funding needed to draw new caregivers and specialists to the region.
On the 2nd day of Christmas Mayers gave to me...
Two beautiful campuses
Between the years of 1970 and through the 1990s, the District constructed
various additions to the building and remodeled older sections to make room for
growth—patients, physicians, new technologies and services. In 1993, another
facility was built in the growing community of Burney (over 17 miles to the
west) on land owned by Fruit Growers Supply Company. This facility now houses
additional skilled nursing rooms, including a secure Alzheimer’s unit.
...and a hospital in the valley...
