Our History

Haxtun Hospital District History

"The Haxtun Community Hospital opened March 1938 on the second floor of the Drake Mercantile building built in 1913. It was operated by two registered nurses, one from Knoxville, Tenn. and on the other from Ord, Neb." The building, located on the corner of Colorado Ave and Fletcher Street remains a landmark for the town of Haxtun still today but is currently unoccupied with the exception of apartments on second floor. On the 22nd day of April, 1960 petitions containing a total of 575 signatures were filed with the Phillips County Clerk and Recorder supporting the formation of the Haxtun Hospital District. The Clerk certified that within the boundaries of the proposed district there were 858 registered voters. This provided evidence that the petition had been signed by not less than 50% of the registered voters therefore meeting this requirement. On the 25th day of July, 1960 the formation of the proposed Haxtun Hospital District was presented to Phillips County District Court. After confirmation that all requirements had been met by petitioners, the Haxtun Hospital District was organized as a corporate body pursuant to Colorado Session Laws of 1959, Chapter 179. Haxtun Hospital District operated in the Drake Mercantile building until "voters overwhelmingly passed a $400,000 bond question for the construction of a new hospital. The District came back to the voters in 1986, 1990, 1992, 2004, and 2008, seeking help to expand the facility or support to keep it open. The voters said yes each time." In 1965 the Hospital moved into the new building at 235 West Fletcher where it is currently located. In 1990 a two story addition was built on the west side of the Hospital, designed to physically connect the two buildings. This provided additional nursing home rooms on the main floor, independent senior living on the second floor, laundry, purchasing, facilities and a classroom in the basement. By 2012the second floor had been converted to business offices and temporary housing for Locum Tenens physicians, visiting consultants, etc. Haxtun Hospital purchased a building that originally housed the kindergarten classes for Haxtun Schools in 1964 and it was the original home for the Haxtun Family Medicine Center. The building is now the Haxtun Hospital Rehabilitation Department. The Haxtun Family Medicine Center moved to a new building on the northeast corner of the campus at 233 West Strohm in 1972 where is it currently located. The Fleming Family Health Center building in Fleming, Co. is the most recent addition to Haxtun Hospital District. The building had been a rental property for some time but was actually purchased Sept. 2014. Currently, Haxtun Hospital District is a 25 bed Critical Access Hospital with 20 beds designated for Long Term Care and five for Hospital/Acute Care.