Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital holds 50th

link Residents explore the displays

hung in the hallway as pat of the

50th anniversary celebration

Thursday at Dan C. Trigg

Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari.

By Thomas Garcia

QCS Senior Writer

Scattered rain showers did not sway 60 residents, city and county officials and physicians and staff from celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital Thursday in Tucumcari.

“What has stood the test of time is not the brick and mortar of this building,” said Lance Labine, hospital administrator. “It is the commitment of the staff of Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital and the support of the community that has made these 50 years of service possible.”

Looking back on the history of this hospital you can’t help but be amazed at the progress that has been made over the years, said Craig Cosner, hospital board chair.

Cosner said the hospital cost $1.9 million when it was built in 1965. He said today you could not even begin to construct a portion of the facility for that amount of money.

Cosner said one fact that has astonished him is since he began serving on the board in 2008 has been that an verage of 20,000 people receive treatment annually at the hospital.. He said if there had been a record kept since the start of the hospital, it would show that the number of people treated has been well over 1 million.

From the original hospital on Fourth Street (currently Dunn Park) there has been a presence of help and support in the hallways from members of the auxiliary. He said from their start in 1961 through today, the auxiliary has been a huge part of the support system and success at Dan C. Trigg Hospital.

“The Quay County commissioners want to applaud Dan C. Trigg Memorial for the milestone of 50 years of service to the region,” said County Manager Richard Primrose, adding that the commission knows the main reason for the celebration is the citizens and their support of the gross receipt tax to help fund the facility each year.

“If this hospital had been built sooner, I would not have been born in Dunn Park,” Primrose said.

The change in the technology available and services at Dan C. Trigg Memorial today shows just how far the facility has come in the past 50 years, said Bo Beams, regional vice president at Presbyterian Health Services.

Beams, a former Trigg administrator, said the community of health care givers is what makes the success of this facility possible. He said he is not only speaking of the doctors and nurses, but also of housekeepers and dietitians who must know how to prevent the spread of diseases and prepare balanced meals for the patients of the hospital, along with the groundskeepers and maintenance workers who keep the hospital in working order; he also praised the administration and staff who are in charge of the logistics and data of day-to-day operations of the hospital.

Beames said the continued support of the community and the outstanding efforts of the entire staff of Dan C. Trigg Memorial hospital will ensure its continued success for years to come.