A Women’s Day Reflection
by Kendra Aucker, President and CEO

Evangelical’s history dates back to December 11, 1926, when the Slifer Farm in Lewisburg (the current home of RiverWoods) opened an infirmary in a local home for the aged and an orphanage known as the Evangelical Home. The infirmary became known as the community’s hospital and served as a “haven for the ill,” a place where the sick and injured were nursed back to health. 

From 1935 to 1973, Lystra Rogers, RN served as the administrator and played an important part in the history of Evangelical. 

March 8, 2023, is International Women’s Day and March is also celebrated as Women’s History Month. This seems like the right time to remember Lystra Rogers.

On August 16, 1993, early in my career at Evangelical, I had the opportunity to interview Miss Rogers in her home on Hospital Drive. I remember this date as it was the day after my 32nd birthday. And it turned out it was the day after Miss Rogers’ 89th. We both chuckled that we shared the same birth date.

And yes, Miss Rogers lived in a home directly across the street from the Hospital and she took great pride in literally watching the organization grow. In fact, I interviewed Miss Rogers in the living room of her home, which was located in what is now the Philanthropy and Donor Relations office, and at one time housed the EMSO administrative offices. At one point later in my career, this living room was my office.

When discussing the Evangelical Home, Miss Rogers said that her major concern was finding enough room for the patients. They always had cots set up in the hallways. There were 39 beds and the demand for care was incredible. Waiting lists got longer and space got smaller. Soon the cramped and overcrowded conditions necessitated the need for an expansion.

Miss Rogers said, “The Hospital was a wing of the Home. Unfortunately, it was built with no medical consultation. So, you couldn’t fit a bed through the doorways. Patients had to be taken out of their beds and put on litters to be taken to X-ray. Accommodations were very, very unhandy.”

Miss Rogers added, “The community can’t be praised enough for what they did, to bring it to what it is today. We wouldn’t have gotten a hospital if it hadn’t been for the community. It’s quite an institution.”

Ground was broken for a new 79-bed hospital, Evangelical Community Hospital, in June of 1951 on the location the Hospital still resides. On March 31, 1953, under the direction of Miss Rogers, Evangelical moved 31 patients, five babies, equipment, and supplies across the highway. Eight local ambulances performed the transfer in little over an hour. Within 24 hours of opening its doors, the Hospital was filled to capacity. The staff was kept busy on the first day of operation. While waiting for new equipment to be moved and installed, the staff delivered several babies and performed an appendectomy. 

“The need to stay focused on advancing the work of the Hospital helped me and the staff get through many challenges,” Miss Rogers said. “It grew so fast in those days.”

It is important to know the history of the Hospital—to learn about Miss Rogers—as it reminds us all that we are part of something bigger. And the past gives you hope for the future. In speaking with Miss Rogers nearly 30 years ago, it was clear that she entered the healthcare profession because she had a sense of service to others. I think that view of service resonates with Evangelical’s staff within the walls of today’s Hospital. And I think that most people want to know that what they spent their lives doing did not go unnoticed. Miss Rogers made a difference here and her impact continues.

And while many individuals have helped bring this organization to what it is today, the truth is you don’t have Evangelical Community Hospital without the efforts, dedication, and commitment of thousands of women over nearly 100 years of service to the community. Please know that this month and every day at Evangelical Community Hospital we celebrate the vital role women have played in the Hospital’s history. 

What our staff do, day in and day out, regardless of gender, makes a difference and does not go unnoticed.