Hospitals & Healthcare

Holden Hospital

Carbondale is also the hub of medical care in the Southern Illinois region. In 1912, Carrie Holden gave her home in Litchfield, Illinois to the Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Southern Illinois to establish a hospital. This came to be The Holden Hospital Corporation of Carbondale, officially opening in 1916 as a non-profit institution for the purpose of healing and care of the sick and needy by the Methodist Church of Southern Illinois. A training school for nurses was established shortly thereafter and operated until 1936.

In 1924, an addition was built to the original building. On March 4, 1940, a fire destroyed a section of the original building, with damage amounting to $40,000. By October of 1941, all repairs were made and the new South wing was occupied. In 1949, the last of the original building was torn down because it had become too much of a fire hazard. In 1955, a fund drive was launched to attempt to raise $220,000 for an expansion program. The drive failed, and the board recommended closing the hospital, but the Southern Illinois Conference of the Methodist Church reorganized the hospital and was able to keep it open.

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On February 7, 1958, an agreement was reached with the Southern Illinois Hospital Corporation to sell the hospital. After a three-year legal battle, the sale was completed on September 1, 1961. In 1965, it was announced that Holden Hospital was being consolidated with Doctors Memorial Hospital, and would become primarily an extended care hospital. The hospital property was sold in 1967 to the First National Bank of Carbondale, but the hospital remained in operation until April 15, 1971, when the new wing of Doctors Memorial Hospital was completed and the facilities at Holden were all transferred. Shortly thereafter, the old section of the hospital, built in 1924, was demolished, but the rest of the building was retained as an office building until 1976 when the last of the building was torn down to make way for a parking lot.

Memorial Hospital

Memorial Hospital of Carbondale has been renovated and enlarged with additions of the Prairie Heart Institute, an Out-Patient Surgery Center, a level one trauma ER center, and a multi-level parking garage. Carbondale’s medical community is a leading facility in Southern Illinois. With over 3,000 employees, along with physicians and volunteers, SIH (Southern Illinois Healthcare) works to ensure that the health care needs of the community are met. Memorial Hospital of Carbondale is the flagship hospital for SIH and the regional referral center for the 16-county southern Illinois region. Physicians in nearly 40 different specialties practice in Carbondale. The hospital is accredited by the Commission on Cancer for comprehensive cancer treatment.

A few of the highlights of Memorial Hospital in Carbondale include:

  • 140-bed tertiary care hospital
  • Affiliated with SIU School of Medicine through its Family Practice Residency Program, Neuroscience program including neurosurgery, and the region’s only Primary Stroke Center
  • The core hospital for SIH’s comprehensive, regional heart program, Prairie Heart Institute
  • The only dedicated pediatric unit in the region
  • Southern Illinois’ largest and most spacious birthing center with Level II Plus Special Care Nursery

Other Medical Facilities

Carbondale also hosts medical facilities with:

  • Imaging centers
  • Private practices
  • Professional offices in:
    • Chiropractic
    • Obstetrics
    • Pediatrics
    • Rehabilitation
    • Surgery
    • Walk-in clinics
  • Sleep centers

Also on the outskirts of Carbondale, a 4,050 square foot Cancer Center is located next to Crab Orchard Wildlife Preserve, the center has infused a calm setting to treat patients. Staff members have access to state-of-the-art technology and workspace that will improve the level of care patients receive while maintaining patient privacy. In 2016, additional expansion was completed which includes; the expansion of the operating rooms from 7 to 10, renovations, and additional space for the post-anesthesia recovery unit, surgical prep area, and pre-operative holding. A new Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (ICU), additional private inpatient rooms, and a new same-day surgery center.