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1905
On March 22, above the
Christianson Drug Store ,10 Broadway, Drs.
Olaf Sand,
Nils Tronnes and Christian Kackelmacher; druggist
Lars Christianson; Pastors O.A. Fonkalsrud and S. Romsdahl; and a number of other concerned citizens meet to discuss the possibility of building a Lutheran hospital in Fargo. In May, the Lutheran Hospital Association is formed to plan the facility. Articles of Incorporation are written, and a Board of Directors is elected.
1906
In October, "St. Luke's Hospital" is selected as the name for the new facility. Plans are drawn up and construction begins.
1908
On Feb. 25,
St. Luke's Hospital opens. Within three days, all beds are full. During its first year in operation, the Hospital treats an average of 24 patients a day. That number will double within 10 years.
That same month, the Hospital is authorized to "arrange for regular instruction in a training school for nurses." Sister Osa Oppedahl of the Deaconesses from the Norwegian Lutheran Church of Chicago is put in charge of the St. Luke's School of Nursing, and nine students enroll.
1909
Discussion begins on expanding the Hospital. Property lots adjacent to the Hospital are purchased, and the first manager, the Rev. O.A. Fonkalsrud, is hired to handle the Hospital's business affairs.
1910
Lars Christianson donates $10,000 for the building of the Hospital's new addition, after a poor crop results in less-than-stellar sales of stock in the project. This is just one of many times Christianson provides the Hospital with funds when no other source can be found.
The first class graduates from the School of Nursing. The class consists of three students, Anna McDonald, Hazel Hodgson and Olga Gronley. All had completed one year of training elsewhere before entering St. Luke's program.
1913
Plans are in the works for the first
School of Nursing residence, a two-story frame building consisting of 20 rooms plus a bathroom, laundry and full basement. The construction of the facility will save the Hospital $1,600 a year in rent for nurses' quarters.
1918
A new addition is completed, doubling the Hospital's size. Located on the east end of the building, the addition includes three
operating rooms, a sterilizing room, a dressing room on each floor and larger kitchens.
As World War I rages on in Europe, St. Luke's joins the effort by training nurses for the Red Cross.
A major flu epidemic hits the area. In response, the Hospital sets up a special ward in the basement for high-fever patients who suffer from delirium.
The first nurse's scholarship is awarded by Drs. Sand, Tronnes and Oftedahl to Borghild Thortenson, a graduate nurse, for post-graduate work. In return, she is required to work for the Hospital for two months afterward.
Continue to 1919 - 1927.