The Evolution of the Washington Hospital
The story begins in January, 1942. Raymond Lasance and Roberta (Kern) Lasance moved from Eureka to Washington. They moved into the home at 618 Peoria Street, at the southern foot of what is now Tiezzi Lane.
Just two months into their new life in Washington, Ray was stricken with a rare virus and Roberta, a registered nurse, enlisted the help of Dr. George Cohen in town to help pull Ray through with numerous blood transfusions. The likelihood of Ray being able to return to work at that time seemed very slim so Roberta took a Peoria hospital patient named Jennie Davis into her home. Davis was a Washington resident and this would bring her closer to her friends who could visit.
Davis' transition into the Lasance home was a success, and it wasn't long before a second request came forth, this time from Washington Dr. O.P. Bennett, to take in Miss Mae Tanton. More requests would come, which needless to say was unfeasible. Roberta began looking for a suitable home to turn into a small hospital, and on November 17, 1942 they officially moved their caring of the aged to 127 South Main Street.
The South Main property (pictured below), known then as the Harms residence, had previously been used as an office by Dr. M.H. Whitlock and Dr. George Cohen.
Washington's American Legion was a significant contributor to the early functioning of this first hospital, purchasing $1000 of equipment to be put into the building.
The hospital at 127 South Main lasted about six months. Originally moving into the facility to accommodate more patients than they could fit into their home, the Lasances found a flood of patients wanting into the new hospital, to the point where they had to turn some away.
On May 1, 1943 the Lasance Hospital took possession of 104 East Holland Street in Washington. At the time, Mr, & Mrs. Guy Reyburn lived in the house, which was originally owned by Henry Danforth. Dr. O.P. Bennett approached the Reyburns about selling their home for the hospital for the good of the community, and they negotiated a deal.
The Lasance Hospital, later named the Washington Hospital, ran smoothly until 1949, when Raymond passed away. That sent the future into doubt and on October 19, 1949, Roberta Lasance expressed her desire to step down from her position and sell the property. She wanted the hospital to continue for the sake of Washington, but her ill health would prevent her from being a part of it.
A committee was formed to investigate ways that the hospital could continue to function, and one of the members of the committee was Florence Baltz. The Washington Hospital closed its doors in March, 1950. Over 1,000 babies were born in Washington during the seven years of the hospital's existence.
In late November, 1950 it was announced that Max and Florence Baltz had purchased the property, with Florence planning to run it as a nursing home. Within two months, on January 21, 1951, the Washington Nursing Home held their open house.
Ten years later, Baltz announced an expansion of the Washington Nursing Center with a new building on the northwest edge of Washington, on a road (Newcastle) that at that time did not have a name. The property, purchased from Herman and Ed Essig, had recently been annexed into Washington. Groundbreaking (shown below) took place in February, 1961, and Washington Christian Village, now called Washington Senior Living, still exists there to this day.
From 618 Peoria, to 127 South Main, to 104 E Holland, to 1201 Newcastle, the evolution of the Washington Hospital business from a wife taking care of her husband evolving into what we now know as the Washington Senior Living complex is one of the touching tales of Washington's history.