Reprinted from Strictly Business December 2019 | Photo courtesy of CVPH Medical Center
As the story goes, on Christmas Day in 1922, Mr. and Mrs. William Miner, wealthy philanthropists from Chazy, New York, were having dinner with their good friends, Dr. and Mrs. Cassius Silver. The discussion, as it nearly always did, turned to the state of health care in the North Country. Dr. Silver said he would like to build a new hospital in Plattsburgh. After the dinner, as the four walked down Beekman Street, Miner turned to his wife and said, “Alice, you pick the spot.” What followed was a new and exciting era of health care for the North Country.
Prior to the opening of the state-of-the art facility on Beekman Street in 1926, Dr. Silver and other providers cared for patients at the Physicians Hospital then located on the corner of William and Court Streets in Plattsburgh. Also offering health care services to North Country residents were the Grey Nuns of Ontario who opened Champlain Valley Hospital in 1910 on Rugar Street (now part of SUNY Plattsburgh campus). True to his reputation, William Miner spared no expense in building the 212-bed Physicians Hospital on Beekman Street. Those who came to the facility expected the best health care and they received it. The staff, from the men and women who prepared the meals to those who performed surgeries in the four operating rooms, was dedicated to excellence and to perfecting their skills and the care they provided. They knew they were part of something special and took great pride in doing their best for themselves and their friends and neighbors. Mr. Miner would have it no other way.
Over the decades, both hospitals continued to their missions to provide care to Plattsburgh and surrounding communities. Times changed and it became clear that by combining resources and talent, the region could be better served. In 1967, the Boards of the two hospitals signed an agreement to merge and create a single entity, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Medical Center (CVPH). An addition was built on the Beekman Street facility and the two hospitals became one in 1972. In 2012 CVPH joined Fletcher Allen Partners, which two years later became The University of Vermont Health Network.
Comments