A Gift Worth Keeping

"To receive the sick, maimed or injured who may need hospital care, without discrimination against those who may be unable to pay therefore, and without discrimination as to race, creed or color."

With these words, Gertrude Fassett Jones, known locally as a tireless advocate for the sick and the poor, fulfilled the dream she shared with her late husband, William, to leave their home to the Village of Wellsville for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a hospital in their memory. The bequest also included an endowment of $30,000 toward renovations. In addition, the Village of Wellsville spent nearly $90,000 remodeling “The Beeches” into a 30-bed hospital.
Like the medical industry itself, the Jones Memorial Hospital has come a long way since the first patients were admitted on June 27, 1921. In the early years, Jones was a 30-bed facility, serving some 450 patients and delivering 25 babies each year with a staff of about 17 people. Today, Jones Memorial Hospital is a 70-bed private, not-for-profit acute care facility serving the healthcare needs of over 50,000 community residents. Jones Memorial employs over 400 people, making it the third largest employer in Allegany County. The area served by Jones Memorial includes all of Allegany County, western Steuben County and northern Potter County, PA. Add up the number of inpatients admitted to the Hospital and outpatients seen in the emergency room and at the six Jones Memorial Medical Practices offices, the number of people using the services at Jones Memorial Hospital reaches well over 75,000 a year.
On the day Jones Memorial Hospital it was dedicated – July 1, 1921 - throngs passed through the refurbished Jones mansion. What they saw was one of the finest community hospitals in New York State. Soon after the Hospital opened, the village remodeled the barn, turning it into the hospital laundry and home for the nursing staff.
The first patient admitted to the new hospital was Mrs. Adelaide Foland. Her doctor, Dr. F. E. Comstock, is credited with performing the first surgery at the new hospital. He was also the first of three generations of Comstock's on the JMH Medical Staff.
Within seven years,it was obvious that the 30-bed hospital was not large enough to meet the needs of the growing Wellsville community.
The first expansion to the Hospital occurred in 1928, when the Tullar Memorial Maternity Annex was built through a generous gift from Mrs. Angie Tullar. One of the designers of the new maternity area was Dr. G.W. Roos, a general practitioner with a special interest in obstetrics. He was assisted by Hospital Superintendent Miss Florence Spicer. The wing was furnished through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. George Rosa, who donated $10,000 for that purpose. The 10-bed maternity annex was attached to the rear of the main building in place of the porch and conservatory. This additional space alleviated the deficiencies of the original hospital.
In 1942, the Harry Bradley family deeded the old Samuel Carpenter property to the village, connecting the Hospital grounds with West Genesee Street. A new home for the nurses was built there, with furnishings provided by members of the Hospital Board.
These buildings stood until 1952, when the Hospital – and the community – outgrew the existing structure. After an intense three-year fundraising campaign and tremendous support from all the local towns and villages, a modern 75-bed hospital was built around the former Jones mansion. Very soon afterwards, the original hospital buildings were torn down and the front parking lot was placed where the Jones house had stood facing Main Street. People from all over the area donated over $200,000 to offset the cost of the $1.3 million building, which was financed through the federal Hill-Burton Act. Jones Memorial was the 50th hospital built under this program.
A crowd of 1,600 people turned out to see the new building when it was dedicated on August 3, 1952. However, according to news reports at the time, the new building didn’t open for business until two weeks later because a “strike condition” delayed the completion of the finish work. As a result, the old hospital continued to provide health services until the big move to the new building. Four infants were born in the old building on Dedication Day.
Jones Memorial Hospital – and the community - continued to grow. In 1968, a third floor was added to the center of the existing building. A three-story "west wing" was added, adjacent to the Genesee River, and a two story addition was constructed between the existing building and the new wing. All this construction increased the size of the Hospital to 120 beds.
Then came Hurricane Agnes. In 1972, the rain-swollen Genesee River overflowed its banks and undermined the "new" wing. While this did get the Hospital national newspaper headlines, it also caused the collapse of the west wing. No life was lost and much equipment was saved, but the new wing was gone. A two-year rebuilding project began right away on the north side of the Hospital to replace those areas affected by the flood, including the Intensive Care Unit, patient care rooms, administration offices, and medical staff areas. It was completed in 1974.
The Hospital remained a village entity until January 1988, when it divested from the Village of Wellsville and became a private, not-for-profit hospital. Having successfully separated it’s operation from the Village, the Hospital was eligible for grants and funding that would not have been available were it still a village entity.
In 1991, the Hospital broke ground on a 44,000-foot addition on the east side of the building. With the concept of realigning outpatient services in a centralized core area, this area is now home to the emergency services department, the in-patient and outpatient surgical suites, the rehabilitation gym and the medical imaging department. Also located in this most recent addition are the main entrance, lobby, and the Hospital Gift Shop, which is run by the JMH Auxiliary. The project also included renovation of the hospital's dietary and cafeteria facilities within the existing building.
Today, JMH provides a full range of inpatient and outpatient services designed to meet the healthcare needs of our community. In addition to a 24-hour, physician-staffed emergency department, JMH diagnostic services include a full medical imaging department with 40-slice CT scanner, nuclear medicine, 3-D/4-D ultrasound, digital mammography equipment, and a mobile MRI unit. The Hospital also has a state-of-the-art surgical suite, intensive care and coronary care units, pain management services, and cardiopulmonary services. The hospital also provides occupational medicine services to local business and industry.
As a community hospital one of the continuing motivations has been expanding and adding services that meet the needs of those we serve. This growth can be seen in many Hospital departments. One example is the Rehabilitation Services Department. Although the 1990 renovations included a rehab gym, an aquatic therapy pool, and offices for audiology and speech, the department outgrew that location. As a result, other areas had to be renovated and relocated to make room for this expanding department. Relocated to the larger area were the occupational therapy area and the main Rehab reception area. Rehab Services also include pain management, massage therapy, and acupuncture services.
Jones Memorial Medical Practices is the umbrella for eight physicians and healthcare providers. With specialties in obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, and family practice, as well as a nurse midwife, the Medical Practices offices are located in Belmont, Alfred, Andover and Wellsville. In cooperation with the Wellsville Lions Club, Jones Memorial now houses and staffs the Wellsville Lions Club Diabetes Center. With widespread support from other Lions Clubs and a $54,000 grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation, the Diabetes Center provide diabetics with counseling, supplies and on-site testing, including Hemoglobin A1C, lipids profiles, and urine micro albumin. Staffed by a Diabetes Nurse Educator who is also a certified insulin pump trainer and a Family Nurse Practitioner who is also a certified diabetes nurse educator, the Diabetes Center has been certified by the American Diabetes Association.
After a very successful $1.2 million Capital Campaign, the maternity department — which was virtually unchanged since the 1950s — was renovated into a state of the art birthing unit. The new rooms, each reflecting the LDRP concept in which labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum occurs in the same room, have custom woodwork and private bathrooms, several with bubble tubs. This new space also includes an outpatient assessment area, a new nursery with infant warmers, and an enhanced infant security system.

If it seems that the word "new" appeared often in this history, it's because Jones Memorial is constantly adapting to meet the healthcare needs of those we serve. With the continued support of the community, the hospital will remain a progressive and caring healthcare provider that is poised to face the challenges of the future.