1885:
The Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha Society of Chicago holds
its first meeting.
1894: O.M.
Torrison, chairman of the hospital board, lays the
cornerstone for the new hospital in June.
Norwegian Lutheran Hospital is dedicated in October.
1917: The
hospital builds a 100 bed South Wing for $105,000 and
changes its name to Norwegian American Hospital.
1929:
The original 50-bed hospital is razed, and the hospital
builds a new 130 room structure.
1930: A new
five story building is erected, bringing bed capacity to
300, including 75 rooms for private patients.
1940: Women's
Auxiliary is formed.
1945: The
Auxiliary opens a gift shop in the hospital lobby.
1946: Hospital
survives the financial crisis of the Depression, and
retires its debts.
1958:
Dedication held for a five story addition.
1962:
Norwegian American Hospital's School of
Nursing, in existence since the hospital's founding,
closes.
1968: Hospital
begins a new expansion and remodeling project, and
dedicates an Honor Roll commemorating deceased members
of the medical staff.
1969: The
hospital is now a block square, with a medical staff of
115, and 460 employees.
1981: New
delivery room opens. Record 555 babies delivered
in three months.
1984:
Level II Nursery completed, doubling the available
space. Pediatrics renovated. New hospital
logo adopted. Norwegian American Hospital
celebrates its
90th year of medical care with a
series of events commemorating its founding.
1985: Hospital
launches campus beatification project. Health
Works program debuts, enrolling over 200 companies in
its employee health program in less than a year.
1986: New
Labor, Delivery, and Recovery birthing suite is
completed. Over 400 couples use it in the first
year.
1989: The
hospital's 4,000 deliveries place it in the top ten
hospitals in the state for number of births.
Emergency department sets new record, serving 23,000
patients.
1993: Hospital
kicks off a series of events
celebrating
a Century of Service. New GI lab opens. A
comprehensive Management Information System is
installed, and all equipment is modernized.
1994: Nine
year old Marcel Fernandez of Bolivia, blind since birth
with congenital cataracts, undergoes sight-restoring
surgery, while a Filipino toddler, Maria Ugardo, arrives
at Norwegian for removal of a face distorting growth on
her forehead. Emergency Room expands from 6 to 10
treatment bays, and upgrades to Comprehensive status.
1997: Dedication
of new Professional Building with 60,000 square feet for
doctors' offices, and space for
the new Women's Health Center, as well as the Physician
Specialty
Center, and the Everest Dialysis Center.
Dedication of new Women's Health Center, which addresses
a whole range of women's healthcare needs and services,
including patient education, teenage pregnancy
prevention, and life cycle changes.
2006: Leading
edge Behavioral Medicine Unit is launched to serve the
psychiatric health needs of patients and the community.
2009:
Governor Quinn Visits Norwegian American Hospital:
Establishes State Public Health Advocate
2010: Surgeons at Norwegian American
Hospital now are the first in Chicago using Stryker
Corporation’s new state-of-the-art WiSe™
HD Wireless Video
Technology in their operating rooms.
