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History

1970s

1970

  • New Liberty Hospital District forms. In May, residents approve a $2 million bond issue for hospital construction. Newly named Liberty Hospital District Directors are: Russell Stocksdale, president; Robert DeMasters, vice president; Bill Adams, clerk; Bruce Heavner, attorney for the board; Charles Gillespie; Dr. H.I. Hester; Vincent Rigby; and Robert Lincoln.

1972

  • Community leaders break ground for the new hospital Dec. 9 on a 30-acre site located near Interstate 35.

1974

  • 101,000-square-foot, 130-bed Liberty Hospital opens at a cost of $6 million—three months ahead of schedule. A crowd estimated at 3,000 attends dedication and open house on Feb. 3. Sen. Stuart Symington presides over the ceremony. The first patient is accepted Feb. 17. During that first week, 96 patients are admitted. Hospital opens with 47 beds in operation and 83 in reserve. The hospital has 175 employees and 39 physicians.

1978

  • 14,547 square feet of space added with construction completed in June. Cost: $732,843. The new addition is utilized for surgery, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, radiology, laboratories, business office and storage.

1980s

1982

  • Breast Diagnostic Center opens, one of the first self-referral centers of its kind in the country and one of only few in the area accredited by the American College of Radiology.

1984

  • East wing opens at a cost of $10.4 million. The 109,000-square-foot addition virtually doubles the size of the hospital. Included are new surgical and medical intensive care units, and seven-bed progressive care unit; outpatient surgical suite and expanded waiting area; and preoperative holding room.

1986

  • Education Center opens at a cost of $498,623. The center contains five meeting rooms and auditorium with seating for more than 100.

1987

  • Twelve-room emergency department with ambulance garage completed at a cost of approximately $1.6 million.

1989

  • Obstetrics unit opens at a cost of $486,904. The facility provides labor-delivery-recovery birthing suites, in-unit surgical suite, level 2 nursery and well-baby nursery.

1990s

1990

  • Outpatient special procedures unit opens at a cost of $976,286.

1994

  • Emergency Department expansion is completed. The addition includes a three-room triage area, expanded reception area, ENT rooms and radiology trauma room. Hospital opens cardiac cath lab.

1996

  • Angiography suite opens in February for expanded cardiac caths and other vascular procedures. One-mile walking trail paved and open to public.

1997

  • Outpatient special procedures, central supply and the surgery department are modernized—including the recovery area and the addition of one surgical suite. The overall project involves 22,302 square feet of new construction and 20,898 square feet of renovated space at a total project cost of approximately $7.2 million.

1998

  • Installation of the new state-of-the-art MRI unit is completed in June.

1999

  • The Doctors Building opens in June. The 80,000-square-foot, four-story building houses more than 100 physicians, as well as some hospital services.

2000s

2001

  • Dedicated cardiac cath lab with admitting, preparation and recovery area is completed. A 20-bed intensive care unit and renovation of the emergency department is completed at a cost of $12.5 million.

2004

  • The South Tower opens in March with a 19-bed telemetry unit with all private rooms.

2005

  • The TreeHouse—a home away from home for patients and family—welcomes its first guests. Medical Plaza East, an 84,000-sqare-foot building with a 525-space attached parking garage, opens at a cost of $25 million. The obstetrics unit relocates to the new Birthing Center featuring state-of-the-art amenities, 24 private rooms and a second C-section room.

2007

  • Two floors are added to the South Tower. The expansion adds 40 more beds to the hospital. Two West is remodeled and opens with 10 new rooms, increasing the hospital's number of licensed beds to 245. The Pain Management Center opens in Medical Plaza East.

2008

  • In December, Liberty Hospital completes a $13 million expansion. The 30,000-square-foot expansion includes a sixth and seventh floor on the hospital's South Tower. The hospital also adds licensed beds to the facility, bringing the new total to 250.

2009

  • The hospital opens its Heart & Vascular Center, a $15.1 million expansion that features 42,000 square feet of space and includes two additional open-heart surgery suites, one additional cath lab, new receiving docks, extra storage and additional space for future growth. On November 17, 2009, Michael Gorton, MD, performs the hospital's first open-heart surgery.
  • The hospital purchases three physician practices: The Liberty Clinic, Liberty Cardiovascular Specialists and Liberty Cardiothoracic Surgeons.

2010s

2010

  • In November, Liberty Hospital brings innovative therapies to our patients and the community by initiating its first clinical trial. The hospital also celebrates its 100th open-heart surgery.
  • In December, Liberty Hospital completes construction on the Liberty Cancer Center. The new center, located on the ground floor of Medical Plaza East, has 10 private infusion bays, three exam rooms, two treatment rooms and a large waiting area.

2011

  • In April, Joseph Crossett, Liberty Hospital administrator, retires after 35 years of service to the organization.
  • In July, the hospital breaks ground on the new Liberty Clinic. The new clinic is located on the northeast side of The TreeHouse, and offers 25,000 square feet of space, 39 exam rooms, a large lab and a diagnostic area.
  • In August, David Feess is named president and CEO of Liberty Hospital by the board of trustees.
  • In September, the hospital upgrades its robotic da Vinci Surgical System. The hospital already performs hundreds of urology and gynecology procedures with the robot and, with the new system, expands into even more surgical areas, including general surgery, cardiology and otolaryngology.
  • In November, the Liberty Hospital Wound Clinic moves to 550 Rush Creek Parkway, Suite B, in Liberty. The clinic offers nine private exam rooms and three procedure rooms.

2012

  • The Liberty Clinic opens its new location at 2609 Glenn Hendren Drive. The clinic features 25,000 square feet of space and 39 exam rooms.
  • In August, Liberty Hospital acquires The Kearney Clinic, located at 305 S. Platte Clay Way in Kearney. The clinic serves more than 8,000 patients in the Kearney community and surrounding areas.

2013

  • The Liberty Hospital board of trustees announces plans to work with two partner firms to build a Healthy Living Community near the hospital campus. The proposed $60 million investment in Liberty will be the nation’s first such development. The project is intended to establish Liberty Hospital as the region’s leader in advancing new models of care.
  • 1,000th angioplasty is performed in the cardiac cath lab.

2014

  • The Kearney Clinic expands services, including the addition of physical therapy.
  • The Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Center is under construction at 398 Blue Jay Drive in the Liberty Triangle. It will feature both sports medicine and outpatient rehabilitation. It is set to open in summer.
  • Women’s Imaging at Liberty Hospital will open in Medical Plaza East. Set for a June opening, the new center will include 3-D mammography and same-day testing for many diagnostics.
  • Launched See the Change, an innovative heart program—the first of its kind in the nation.
  • Urgent care set to open in early October.

2015

  • Liberty Hospital Urgent Care Shoal Creek opens in January across from Walmart in KC-Liberty.
  • Liberty Hospital Specialty Clinic opens in the Barry Pointe building across from Sam's Club. Specialties include cardiology, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics and dermatology/skin cancer.
  • Liberty Hospital receives an A grade for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, a national, nonprofit hospital safety watchdog.
  • The Surgeons Clinic at Liberty Hospital opens in the Doctors Building. Two new surgeons join Charles W. Beggs, M.D., FACS. They are Ryan Strain, M.D., and Kirstie Van Ry, M.D.
  • Liberty Hospital becomes the first in the region—and only the second in the state—to offer MAKOplasty, a procedure that uses a rotobic arm to help perform partial-knee and hip replacements.
  • The new main lobby entrance opens in December. Also opening are The Gift Shop, Patient Registration and 3 East. Phase 2 of construction, including surgery waiting, and the former entrance area continues through spring 2016.

2016

  • The Excelsior Springs Clinic moves into its new 6,500-square-foot facility at the corner of Highway 69 and McCleary Road.
  • Liberty Hospital partners with Liberty Parks and Recreation to expand The Big Bunny Bash spring event/egg hunt on campus.
  • Renovations to the surgery waiting area and the former entrance area is completed.

2017

  • The first Liberty Hospital Half Marathon/5K took off March 4 with more than 1,200 runners and 200 volunteers.
  • The Orthopedic Surgeons Clinic opens in the Doctors Building.
  • The Liberty Clinic and Liberty Hospital expanded Trunk or Treat by partnering with Liberty Parents as Teachers to host their big truck event.

2018

  • Liberty Hospital Primary Care Shoal Creek opens at the corner of Highway 152 and Shoal Creek Parkway.
  • Norterre opens next door to Liberty Hospital in February and is acquired by the hospital later by the end of the year.
  • Liberty Hospital notes its 1,000th open-heart surgery in January.
  • The Pulmonary & Sleep Clinic, formerly Northland Chest Consultants, opens in the Doctors Building in the fall.

2019

  • New partnership established: Liberty Hospital Orthopaedics staffed by MU Health Care physicians.
  • Liberty Hospital is the first Northland hospital to be state designated in trauma, stroke and heart attack.