Adventist Health Columbia Gorge

Adventist Health Columbia Gorge is a hospital complex in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. The organization traces its origins to 1901, when physicians Belle Cooper Rinehart and Mary Powell Johnson established a hospital in the Rinehart family home. Through successive expansions, relocations, and organizational changes, the institution developed from a small local hospital into a regional health-care provider serving communities around the Columbia River Gorge. The hospital was initially known as The Dalles Hospital. After Dr. Rinehart married Dr. Elmer Ferguson in 1903, the family home was expanded and the hospital grew. Dr. John Reuter later joined the associated medical practice. Further building work in 1912 and 1937 supported an institution with approximately 20 beds. During the nursing shortage of the Second World War, the hospital opened a nursing school, with physicians teaching students until the program closed in 1951. Community donations from residents, businesses, physicians, and employees helped fund a new hospital on 19th Street in 1959. The facility was promoted as a modern hospital for its era and brought together inpatient care, emergency services, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, maternity, surgery, administration, kitchen, laundry, and maintenance functions. A substantial expansion in 1979 added approximately 20,000 square feet and increased capacity. The organization also introduced on-site child-care and child-development services in 1982. In 1983, the hospital adopted the name Mid-Columbia Medical Center, reflecting its broader role as a regional provider rather than a facility serving only The Dalles. The organization was restructured into an independent parent corporation with related entities covering the hospital, home health, and other programs. The Mid-Columbia Health Foundation was also established that year. A defining feature of the institution's identity was its adoption of the Planetree model of patient-centered care. In 1989, Mid-Columbia Medical Center agreed to become the first hospital to implement the model throughout an entire facility. The transformation involved extensive architectural changes, hospital-wide staff training, and changes intended to make care more personal, humane, and understandable. The remodeling was completed in 1992, and the facility became associated internationally with the Planetree approach. In 2007, it was recognized as a Designated Patient-Centered Hospital, one of only five hospitals in the United States to hold that designation at the time. The organization also became associated with regional advances in minimally invasive surgery. In 1990, physicians Bill Hamilton and Hal Sessions performed the first laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries reported in the Columbia River Gorge at the hospital, and patients were given VHS recordings of their procedures. The institution faced serious reputational and legal difficulties after allegations of sexual abuse by physician Fredrick Field became public in 2011. Twelve women sued the medical center, most cases were settled, and the hospital lost a judgment reported at $2.4 million. In 2013, an anonymous social worker alleged that medical debt associated with the institution contributed substantially to personal bankruptcies in the Mid-Columbia area and raised concerns about billing practices and charges. These allegations formed part of the organization's documented public history, although the available reference material does not establish a comprehensive independent assessment of all the claims. After operating for approximately four decades as Mid-Columbia Medical Center, the hospital complex was purchased by Adventist Health on June 14, 2023, and became Adventist Health Columbia Gorge. The transaction placed the long-standing Columbia Gorge hospital within Adventist Health's broader health-care system while preserving its role as a local hospital and regional medical resource. Its present identity therefore com…

The institution's history begins in 1901, when pioneer physicians Belle Cooper Rinehart and Mary Powell Johnson started a hospital in the Rinehart family home in The Dalles, Oregon. Rinehart had graduated from medical school in 1897 and established a medical practice near East Seventh Street. Her mother helped care for Rinehart's four sons while she pursued medicine, and two of those sons later became physicians. In 1903, Rinehart married physician Elmer Ferguson. Together they expanded the home and enlarged the hospital, which became known as The Dalles Hospital. Physician John Reuter subsequently joined the practice and hospital. Additional expansions took place in 1912 and 1937, when the institution had capacity for approximately 20 beds. During the Second World War, a shortage of nurses led The Dalles General Hospital to open a nursing school. Physicians served as instructors until the school closed in 1951. Local residents, businesses, physicians, and hospital employees contributed to the construction of a new facility on 19th Street in 1959. The building consolidated clinical and support functions and was described at the time as technologically modern, with electric beds, a doctor-registry light board, updated water-purification arrangements, and mercury-vapor parking-lot illumination. Its departments included emergency care, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, maternity, medical inpatient units, surgery, administration, kitchen, laundry, and maintenance. Twenty years after the new hospital opened, a 20,000-square-foot expansion in 1979 added space for patients, beds, and support functions. In 1982, the organization began offering on-site child-care and child-development services. In 1983, it changed its name to Mid-Columbia Medical Center, signaling a broader regional mission. The organization also reorganized as an independent parent corporation with separate entities for the hospital, home health, and other programs, while the Mid-Columbia Health Foundation was created to support the institution. The most distinctive chapter in the hospital's modern history began in 1989, when it agreed to adopt the Planetree model of patient-centered care across the entire facility. The initiative required extensive remodeling, a large-scale training program for hospital employees, and changes to the physical and operational environment. Its purpose was to reduce the impersonality of hospital care and make treatment more accessible, humane, and understandable to patients and families. The work was completed in 1992. The hospital was subsequently identified as the first facility to implement the Planetree concept hospital-wide, and in 2007 it received recognition as a Designated Patient-Centered Hospital, one of five hospitals in the United States with that designation at the time. Clinical innovation also contributed to the hospital's regional profile. In 1990, physicians Bill Hamilton and Hal Sessions performed the first laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries reported in the Columbia River Gorge at the institution. Patients were given VHS recordings of their operations, reflecting both the novelty of the technique and the hospital's effort to explain care to patients. The organization later experienced controversy and litigation. In 2011, allegations of sexual abuse by physician Fredrick Field became public, prompting lawsuits by twelve women. Most cases were settled, while the medical center lost a judgment reported at $2.4 million. In 2013, an anonymous social worker alleged that hospital medical bills were a leading cause of bankruptcy filings in the Mid-Columbia area and criticized collection and billing practices. The same account referenced allegations that some basic services were priced above those of nearby facilities. These matters remain part of the available historical record, but the supplied material does not provide a complete account of subsequent investigations or institutional responses. On June 14, 2023, Adventist Health purchased the complex after roughly forty years under the Mid-Columbia Medical Center name. The organization was renamed Adventist Health Columbia Gorge. The transaction marked a transition from an independent regional institution to membership in the Adventist Health system while continuing the hospital's longstanding role in The Dalles and the Columbia River Gorge.

1. 2023Purchased by Adventist Health

   Adventist Health purchased the former Mid-Columbia Medical Center on June 14 and renamed it Adventist Health Columbia Gorge.

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2. 2007Recognized as a Designated Patient-Centered Hospital

   The hospital received recognition as one of five U.S. hospitals designated for patient-centered care at that time.

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3. 1992Planetree remodeling completed

   A hospital-wide remodel completed the institution's transformation into a Planetree-oriented center of healing.

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4. 1990Regional laparoscopic surgery milestone

   Bill Hamilton and Hal Sessions performed the first reported laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries in the Columbia River Gorge at the hospital.

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5. 1989Planetree implementation begins

   Mid-Columbia Medical Center began adopting the Planetree patient-centered-care model throughout the facility.

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6. 1983Renamed Mid-Columbia Medical Center

   The hospital adopted the Mid-Columbia Medical Center name and reorganized into an independent parent corporation with related health-care entities.

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7. 1979Major facility expansion

   The hospital added approximately 20,000 square feet to increase capacity and improve services.

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8. 1959New 19th Street hospital opens

   Community support helped fund a new hospital facility on 19th Street in The Dalles.

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9. 1951Nursing school closes

   The nursing school created during the wartime nursing shortage ended operations.

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10. 1903Rinehart-Ferguson hospital expansion

    After Belle Rinehart married Elmer Ferguson, the family home was enlarged and the hospital expanded. John Reuter later joined the practice.

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11. 1901Hospital founded in The Dalles

    Belle Cooper Rinehart and Mary Powell Johnson established a hospital in the Rinehart family home.

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A community and regional hospital serving the Columbia River Gorge, distinguished historically by its early, facility-wide adoption of the Planetree patient-centered-care model and, since 2023, by its place within Adventist Health.

• Hospital and inpatient careHospital services1901

  The core offering is hospital-based care in The Dalles, including inpatient treatment and clinical support for communities in the Columbia River Gorge. The historical facility included medical, surgical, maternity, emergency, pharmacy, laboratory, and radiology functions.

• Emergency and diagnostic servicesAcute care

  The hospital has provided emergency, laboratory, pharmacy, and imaging-related services as part of its role as a regional medical resource. Specific current service-line details are not established in the supplied references.

• Surgical servicesSurgery1990

  Surgical care is a longstanding part of the institution's offering. In 1990, physicians performed the first reported laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries in the Columbia River Gorge at the hospital, marking a regional minimally invasive-surgery milestone.

• Home healthCommunity health services1983

  Home health was one of the programs included in the organization's corporate structure after its 1983 reorganization. The supplied sources do not specify the complete current scope of this service.

• Planetree patient-centered carePatient experience1989

  The Planetree program was a hospital-wide care model rather than a single clinical product. It combined architectural redesign, employee training, and operational changes intended to personalize, humanize, and demystify the hospital experience.

• 2023Join Adventist HealthM&A

  After operating as Mid-Columbia Medical Center for roughly forty years, the hospital complex entered a new ownership structure.

  What changed. Adventist Health purchased the complex on June 14, 2023, and the organization became Adventist Health Columbia Gorge.

  Aftermath. The transaction connected the long-standing Columbia Gorge hospital with the Adventist Health system while retaining its local hospital identity.

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• 1989Adopt the Planetree model across the hospitalStrategy

  The hospital sought to move beyond a conventional institutional environment and make care more personal, humane, and understandable.

  What changed. It committed to facility-wide architectural changes, staff training, and operational changes based on the Planetree patient-centered-care model.

  Aftermath. The remodel was completed in 1992, and the hospital became an early global example of hospital-wide Planetree implementation. It later received patient-centered-hospital recognition in 2007.

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• 1983Rebrand as Mid-Columbia Medical CenterStrategy

  The organization had expanded beyond the identity of a single local hospital and was developing a broader regional health-care role.

  What changed. The hospital changed its name to Mid-Columbia Medical Center and reorganized into an independent parent corporation with related entities.

  Aftermath. The MCMC name remained in use for approximately four decades before the organization joined Adventist Health.

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• 2013Allegations concerning billing and medical debtControversy

  An anonymous social worker alleged that medical bills associated with Mid-Columbia Medical Center contributed substantially to bankruptcies in the Mid-Columbia area and questioned the organization's billing, collection, and pricing practices.

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• 2011Sexual-abuse litigation involving Fredrick FieldControversy

  Allegations of sexual abuse by physician Fredrick Field became public in 2011. Twelve women sued the medical center; most cases were settled, while the organization lost a judgment reported at $2.4 million.

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• 2023Adventist Health purchases Mid-Columbia Medical Center

  On June 14, 2023, Adventist Health purchased the hospital complex formerly known for approximately forty years as Mid-Columbia Medical Center. The facility adopted the Adventist Health Columbia Gorge name.

  M&ALeadership change
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• 1992Hospital completes Planetree-centered remodeling

  The hospital completed a substantial transformation intended to make the patient experience more personal, humane, and understandable. It became the first hospital identified with facility-wide implementation of the Planetree concept.

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• 1989Mid-Columbia Medical Center adopts the Planetree model facility-wide

  Mid-Columbia Medical Center agreed to implement the Planetree approach throughout the hospital, beginning a major redesign of its environment, staff training, and patient-care practices.

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1. Adventist Health Columbia Gorge