Historic Omaha

CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL
✧
Above: Children’s Hospital is located at
8200 Dodge Street in Omaha.
Bottom, left: Medical technology has
progressed a great deal since the Children’s
Memorial Hospital opened in 1948.
Bottom, right: A bubbling stream runs
through the lobby of Children’s Hospital.
On February 15, 1948, twenty thousand
people stood in lines three blocks long,
enduring the cold and remnants of a recent
snowstorm, waiting to take a peek at their new
hospital—Children’s Memorial Hospital. After
all, they built it, these people standing out in
the cold, with donations from working
overtime, holding dances, and turning over
box office receipts from local sporting events.
And the adults weren’t the only ones helping.
Omaha’s children turned in money from trick
or treating and held backyard talent shows to
raise funds for the hospital. Even before it
admitted its first patient, Children’s Memorial
Hospital was a much-loved member of the
community it served.
Dr. C. M. W. Poynter first envisioned
Children’s Memorial Hospital, now called
Children’s Hospital, in the 1920s while still in
medical school at Creighton University. The
Great Depression and World War II
intervened and Dr. Poynter’s dream of a
hospital dedicated to the care and healing of
children was put on hold. But in 1943, Dr.
Poynter, now dean of the College of Medicine,
shared his vision with Henry Doorly, and the
planning began in earnest. After getting
architect Frank Latenser started on sketches
and estimates for a sixty-bed hospital, Doorly
handpicked community leaders to serve as
founders for the hospital. These founders got
to work and on Christmas Eve 1943, Articles
of Incorporation were filed, officially giving
birth to Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Now all they needed was money.
Donations from the talent shows and dances
were helped along by a starting donation of
$115,000 from Mr. and Mrs. Doorly and the
Omaha World-Herald. W. Dale Clark, president
of Omaha National Bank, took charge of
collecting the funds. By the time the money
stopped coming in, the original target of
$200,000 had been left in the dust; actual
contributions reached $757,000 by
November of 1947.
From the polio epidemic of 1948, to the
150-plus pediatric heart operations it now
performs annually, Children’s has cared for
Omaha’s children, as well as children across
the nation. Providing exceptional medical
care while using state-of-the-art technology is
only part of what Children’s Hospital is about.
It is also a nationally recognized pediatric
teaching center and a nonprofit organization
that never turns away a child in need of care.
Children’s is an institution built by the
community—then and now. The new building,
with its family-friendly design and whimsical
décor, including a bubbling stream running
through the lobby, was funded not just by large
corporate donations, but also by pennies from
children. And, just as in 1948, thousands
attended the new facility’s open house on
August 19, 2000. After all, it is their hospital.
HISTORIC OMAHA
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