Lead-Deadwood Hospital to celebrate 125 years

DEADWOOD, S.D. (May 16, 2022) – Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital and Clinic is celebrating its 125th anniversary with food, drink and historic tours. A limited number of books, “The History of Healthcare in Lead and Deadwood” by Nicole Shiffrar, will be available.

The celebration, which will also be a joint chamber mixer for the Lead and Deadwood Chambers of Commerce, will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, in the north parking lot across Charles Street from Lead-Deadwood Hospital and Clinic. Food catered by Cheyenne Crossing Catering, and refreshments will be served.

A limited number of spiral-bound copies of Shiffrar’s book will be available free of charge at the event. Hardbound copies will be available at a later date.

Shiffrar works as an Executive Assistant to Mark Schmidt, President of Lead-Deadwood Hospital. Shiffrar said she frequently gets questions about the hospital’s history from descendents of doctors and hospital workers tracing their family histories and history buffs who want to learn more about the hospital.

Two years ago, she began researching and writing the book. She said Dr. Thomas Groeger, a longtime Lead-Deadwood physician, inspired her to write it. “It was supposed to be a six-page booklet,” Shiffrar said. “I kept finding more information – Dr. Groeger said ‘Go for it.’”

The book is more than 100 pages and contains previously unpublished historic photos and accounts going back to the earliest days of the Black Hills Gold Rush in 1876. Groups such as the Sisters of the Holy Cross and Homestake Mining Co. established early hospitals in the Lead-Deadwood area. However in 1897, the Benedictine Sisters purchased a former school in Deadwood and turned it into a hospital on land that today is home to Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital and Clinic.

At the celebration, pens and blank papers will be available for anyone who wants to share their own memories of the Lead-Deadwood hospital.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Daly
Monument Health
605-755-9178
ddaly@monument.health