Our History

Early History

Dr. William H. Ellett was a native of Sullivan Co. MO and attended Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He served his internship and surgical residency at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. His wife, Dorothy (Hawkins) Ellett was a native of Cass County. She graduated from Archie High School and attended St. Luke’s’ Hospital School of Nursing in Kansas City, MO where she received her RN license. Dr. Ellett and Dorothy were married in February 1940. Dorothy assisted Dr. Ellett in the clinic and as a surgical nurse until their retirement in 1976.

Dr. Ellett moved to Appleton City in 1932 and started a practice at the corner of 4^th & Hickory. In 1934 he leased and repurposed the Durley Hotel - located at 3^rd and Walnut Street - as a hospital. Dr. Ellett purchased the building in 1937. In 1943, Dr. Ellett volunteered for the Army Medical Corps for 17 months at Winter General Hospital in Topeka, KS. He was later sent to Hawaii to serve as assistant chief of surgery at the 219^th General Hospital in Oahu. In April 1946, Dr. Ellett received an honorable discharge as Major from the Army Medical Corps and returned to Appleton City to reopen the hospital.

Some of the doctors who practiced in this hospital with Dr. Ellett were:

• C.D. Monroe, later head of Department of Psychiatry, UMC
• Richard E. Symmonds, later head of the Department of Women’s Surgery at the Mayo Clinic
• Robert Slickman, later a specialist in KC 
• Robert Olsen
• Robert H. Brownsberger
• Glen H. Reed

In February, 1952 Dr. Ellett gifted the hospital and most of its equipment to the city of Appleton City. He then relocated to Chicago for advance study (he later returned to practice in AC and Osceola areas).  On March 24, 1952, Appleton City and its citizens honored Dr. Ellett and Dorothy for their service to Appleton City and the community with a gathering of more than 200 people. Dr. Ellett passed away on March 18, 1986 and Dorothy followed in September 9, 2000. Their legacy of involvement and dedication lives on today.

When Dr. Ellett gifted the hospital to the city, Appleton City assumed management of it.  The City reopened the hospital on July 1, 1952 with Dr, R.H. Slickman and Dr. R.O. Olson from Research Hospital as resident medical doctors. Mayor Darwin F. Piepmeier, appointed a Board of Directors to oversee it. The first six named were Harry C. Schlichtman, Albert N. Brownsberger, A.E. Irvin, Rylan S. Lampkin, John J. Yoss and Leslie McEwan. Others who served in later years were: Floyd Bowman, Dr. C.E. Cline, E.N. (Bill) Park, Oscar Eckhoff, Vernon Dines, Allen Zink, Ronald Spears, Harper Fenimore, Jack Sawyer, Lawrence Ditty and Sam J. Landers, Jr., Bill Alexander, Willard Borum, Charles Lampkin, Royce Zink, Roger Tindall and C.W. Ellis. Other mayors who served as ex-officio members were Gus Anderson, Paul Eye, Joe Brownsberger and Harry Walker.

The first administrator was George Wiley. Additional people who served as administrators over the years include: Mrs. Edith Ortner, R.N., Mr. Cline D. Peeler, Mrs. Ruth W. Pierce and John Arth.

Patients praised Ellett Hospital for the care given by top its medical staff and excellent nurses. Some of the R.N.’s particularly remembered were: Miss Mary Opal Brown, Mrs. Edith Ortner, Mrs. Marge Kreissler, and Mrs. Virginia Mount. LPN, Mrs. Dorothy Snider – who worked the night shift for many years - was also fondly remembered.

Community Hospital District - New Hospital

Community Hospital District was formed in 1966 by vote of the citizens. The first board members elected were Willard Daugherty, Willard Borum, Leon Long, Roger Tindall, Estil Majors and Vernon Hutton. 

A new hospital was then constructed on land donated by Mr. & Mrs. Royce Zink. Careage Corporation of Bellevue Washington constructed the new hospital.  An open house was held December 13, 1973. Dr. W.H. Ellett, founder in 1934, was asked to cut the ribbon at the new Ellett Memorial Hospital. Mayor Harry Walker served as the master of ceremonies.

The new 25 bed Ellett Memorial Hospital was designed with the most modern of equipment to provide the best possible care and comfort to each patient. Each room included piped-in oxygen, telephone jacks and TV wiring. The rooms in the south wing were equipped with heart monitoring equipment which automatically recorded at the nurse’s station. The new hospital also included a completely modern laboratory, x-ray room, doctors and nurse’s lounge, scrub room and central supply room. The modern operating room included a window to pass through instruments and equipment. The Ministerial Alliance furnished a quiet room for meditation or counseling of patient relatives. The flag pole was a gift from the Montrose VFW Post and Congressman William J. Randall sent a US flag that had flown over the nation's capitol building. Beds were purchased as memorials and also with donations by Boeing Corporation, who had quarters here during installation of the missile sites. Contents of the old Ellett Memorial Hospital and Durley Hotel items that were well entrenched with memories were auctioned off in June 1974 by Rollin Motley, Auctioneer.