School of Radiologic Technology - Regional West Medical Center

History
History of Sponsoring Organization
The Northwest Conference of the Methodist Church
established the West Nebraska Methodist Episcopal
Hospital in 1924 as a 20-bed facility. In 1967, the
hospital moved from its downtown location to new
a 112-bed facility north of the city. With the move,
the hospital changed its name to West Nebraska
General Hospital. In 1977, West Nebraska General
Hospital acquired the St. Mary’s Hospital. These two
buildings during this era were known respectively
as WNGH North and WNGH South Units. The
hospital’s capacity increased to 262 beds. In 1988,
another name change occurred for the medical
complex to represent the 11-county area that the
hospital serves within western Nebraska and eastern
Wyoming. Regional West Medical Center now serves
over 120,000 people in these 11 counties. In 1989,
Medical Plaza North, a new medical office building,
opened to better serve the medical staff and patients.
In 1994, Regional West became a Level II Trauma
Center. In 2000, the Medical Plaza South opened
providing clinic space for the influx of physicians and
expanding hospital services. Today the South Unit is
known as St. Mary Plaza and is the location for the
classrooms and offices for the radiography program.
As western Nebraska’s largest hospital, Regional
West offers a full continuum of comprehensive
health care services – from emergency care through
outpatient rehabilitation. Growth of Regional West
Health Services continued with the acquisitions of
several physician clinics in 2008 and the Ambulatory
Surgical Center in 2009. Since its inception in 1924,
Regional West has grown from a small community
hospital to a progressive and impressive regional referral
center.
Regional West is one of only three Level II Trauma
Centers in Nebraska providing 24-hour emergency
and trauma care for patients throughout the
Nebraska panhandle and eastern Wyoming. The
medical center has received recognition for its
cancer treatment center, acute rehabilitation and
as a Bariatric Center of Excellence. The 180-bed
facility is accredited by The Joint Commission.
Regional West Medical Center is a not-for-profit
subsidiary of Regional West Health Services. It is
governed by a volunteer board of trustees comprised
of community members. Its active medical staff has
over 110 physicians, 95 percent of whom are board
certified or board eligible, and represents more
than 30 medical specialties and an additional 25
consulting specialists. Regional West provides more
than 250,000 procedures for its patients annually.
In addition, Regional West Laboratory Services
performs more than 583,000 tests annually.
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