Today, the hospitals and clinics continue to make a difference in countless lives through their unwavering commitment to quality care.
The oldest, not-for-profit health care system in the area, Methodist Health System was created in 1982 by Methodist Hospital leaders who realized the progressive direction in which health care was heading. They decided to create a health network to better meet the needs of the people they served.
Mission
Methodist Health System is committed to caring for people.
Methodist Hospital History Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church saw a need in Omaha for a hospital that would provide physical care in a spiritual setting. From the moment it opened its doors at a location just north of 20th and Harney Streets, Methodist Hospital began a tradition of caring that has continued for more than 110 years. The growth of the hospital paralleled the westward expansion of Omaha, hastening a move to the current location at 84th and West Dodge Road in 1968. Methodist Hospital has grown into a 430-bed acute care medical facility that continues its commitment to improving the quality of life in the region through excellence in health care. Methodist Hospital Services Methodist Hospital offers a full range of educational, medical and surgical services. Methodist Hospital's history lists many health care firsts, including being the first hospital in Omaha to offer lithotripsy treatment for kidney stones and an outpatient surgery center. Areas of excellence include women's services, oncology, cardiology, orthopedics, neuroscience and urology. In addition, Methodist Hospital is the area's leading provider of obstetrical care, delivering more than 3,800 babies every year.
Jennie Edmundson Hospital, the oldest organization in the Health System, was founded in 1886 by a group of church women who were known as the "Faith Band." These pioneering women opened the hospital as a five-room cottage in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Named in memory of Jennie Way Hart Edmundson, wife of the hospital's prime benefactor, the facility remains in the same location it has occupied near downtown Council Bluffs since 1907.
Jennie Edmundson Hospital Services
Today, Jennie Edmundson Hospital is a 255-bed regional health center, serving approximately 250,000 residents in southwest Iowa. The hospital has a full range of inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and rehabilitation services with more than 225 physicians representing more than 20 medical specialties.
Advanced technology includes CT scanning, open MRI, new cardiac cath lab, stereotactic breast-imaging monitor and linear accelerator for radiation treatment of cancer. The Jennie Edmundson Cancer Center program, certified by the American College of Surgeons, is the only accredited cancer center in southwest Iowa.
Jennie Edmundson Hospital is a premier provider of maternal/child health services in its region, welcoming more than 600 babies into the world each year. Other specialty services include cardiology, orthopedics and sports medicine, rehabilitative services, occupational health and behavioral health.
