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PACESETTER
A higher level of care
May 2014
IMAGINE
a quiet farming community
along the Columbia River. That was
the village of Richland in the early
1940s before the birth of Hanford
forever changed the landscape of our
community. At the height of World
War II, with battles raging in the Paci c
and in Europe, the U.S. Government
Celebrating 70 years
of changing lives
launched the Manhattan Project, the
secret, incredibly ambitious plan to
build Hanford.
Our story, our community’s story
By 1944, 50,000 workers were on the
job at Hanford, and the population of
the Richland Village swelled to more
than 11,500. This new community was
built under the direction of the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, spearheaded
by Lt. Col. Harry Kadlec. In essence, it
was Kadlec’s job to build what is today
the city of Richland. That included the
medical facilities, which in January
of 1944 amounted to the original,
one-story building, which was over
55,000 square feet on the site of the
current Corrado Medical Building.
When it opened seven months
later, the hospital sta totaled
11 — the superintendent, assistant
superintendent, two doctors and a
part-time surgeon, ve nurses and a
pharmacist. To meet medical needs,
the sta had to expand quickly. The
maternity ward of the building itself
also proved to be too small; even
before it opened plans were made to
expand it.
From its start, the medical facility
called Kadlec was built to serve the
medical needs in the community.
As that community grew, so did the
hospital.
Now, 70 years later, the medical
center draws patients regularly from
Washington, Idaho and Oregon, and
sometimes beyond, and has a medical
sta of over 550 providers representing
almost 60 specialties. Care for children
and babies was an important mission
of that early hospital, and today it still
is. Throughout its seven decade history,
important services and programs were
developed at Kadlec to improve the
quality of life of the residents of the
region and to provide a high level of
care close to home.
While Kadlec has responded to
Beverley Ra ety has relied on
Kadlec for care for 70 years.
Read her story inside.
See our special Healthplex section inside
