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1910
Drs. G. W. Sammons and A. M Smith, the first physicians in Farmington, New Mexico, decided the community needed a hospital. They purchased a four-room building to open an eight-bed hospital with two nurses working 12-hour shifts.
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1922
After a decade, demand exceeded capacity. Concerned citizens formed the San Juan County Association, raised money, and built an addition that increased capacity to 16 beds.
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1930s-1940s
From the Great Depression through World War II, the hospital struggled but survived thanks to incredible community support. The hospital operated a farm and dairy for food, merchants donated paint, church organizations furnished rooms, and local farmers dropped off fruit. Board members often covered operating deficits from their own pockets.
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1950s
The oil field boomed, and San Juan County's population shot up from 3,500 to over 12,000 in two years. Farmington residents began raising money for a new and modern hospital.
"Their vision was for a true community hospital capable of keeping pace with area growth and medical innovations. Putting their money where their mission was, they donated the land for a new building and raised the remarkable sum of $100,000—from a community of fewer than 3,000 people.”
- The Daily Times, April 29, 2001
San Juan Community Hospital opened its 44-bed facility on July 1, 1952. That same year, administrator Charles Martin created the hospital Auxiliary, a volunteer group that still plays a big role today.
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1970s
By 1973, rapid growth required another major construction project. In July 1978, a new five-story hospital opened with 143 beds. A year prior, the hospital's name was changed to San Juan Regional Medical Center to better reflect its growing outreach to the entire Four Corners area.
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Present Day
Since then, the hospital has opened several new facilities including the Outpatient Diagnostic Center, the San Juan Regional Cancer Center, and multiple specialty centers. In 2010, San Juan Regional Medical Center celebrated its 100th anniversary. The great tradition of healing continues today, with renewed commitment in every generation.