Butte County
Biographies
OROVILLE HOSPITAL
OROVILLE HOSPITAL.—One thing of which Californians, of whatever creed or
party politics, may be proud is the ever-increasing number of institutions of
mercy, serving humanity in the most unselfish manner and according to the
highest ideals; and just what her native sons and daughters and the strangers
within her gates owe to such well-conducted centers of activity, for the most
substantial of contributions toward comfort and happiness in life, in the
Golden State, may best be realized by a visit and tour of inspection of such an
establishment as the Oroville Hospital, owned and superintended by
Miss Agnes Curran, and so conveniently and otherwise favorably
located on Robinson Street, Oroville. It would be hard to conceive of a
reasonable feature that is lacking in the appointments; while it would
certainly be difficult anywhere to find a personnel superior to that of its
staff.
The Hospital was started by Miss Curran on
High Street, in 1908, and there it was conducted for a couple of years. At the
end of that time she purchased the present property, the old Reyman residence, which she remodeled and converted into a
hospital building, with an addition for surgical and operating rooms. In 1915
she built a home for her nurses; and in 1918 she added to this, providing for
her assistants a large modern residence, much appreciated by those whose work
is so arduous and full of responsibility. At present the hospital has a
capacity for twenty patients; it is heated by steam and made very comfortable,
and is equipped with all the latest improvements, and Miss Curran has plans
executed by a competent architect for a new hospital to contain not less than
thirty rooms–probably already a need in Oroville, but delayed on account of the
war and the necessity of conserving building materials.
It is natural, on studying such a
representative institution as this thoroughly up-to-date hospital, to inquire
in more detail concerning its founder. Miss Curran was born at Triumph,
near Philadelphia, and when a child came West with her parents to Sacramento.
She attended the Sacramento high school, and then entered the Mater Misericordia Hospital, from which she was graduated with
honors as a nurse. After that Miss Curran went to Salt Lake City, and then
to Denver, in which places she did institutional work; and at the end of two
years she returned to California. In 1908, she took the step so important for
both Oroville and herself, and chose this live and growing town as the scene of
her future professional labors; for seeing the need and opportunity here for a
hospital, she immediately proceeded to establish one. Miss Curran may well
be proud, therefore, of the generous response made by the people of Oroville,
which has helped her to this undeniable success; while it is certain that
Oroville is proud of the ideals and enterprise of this accomplished woman, and
what she has dreamed of doing for the community, and how quickly and well she
made her dream come true.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
16 July 2009.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1217-1218, Historic Record Co, Los
Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies