← News Home

Community Hospital East opens time capsules, reveals 60-year history

For release on April 28, 2016

INDIANAPOLIS – Community Hospital East revealed part of Community Health Network’s 60-year history with the opening of two time capsules in the hospital’s main lobby today.

The time capsules were unearthed as part of the ongoing $175 million construction project to build a new hospital there, and allowed patients and employees an opportunity to look through a unique window into the past.

The first capsule was buried 1955, the year ground broke on Community East, and contained numerous items such as a vial of poliomyelitis vaccine, a U.S. flag with 48 stars and a list of the donors who gave money for the new hospital. The top three donors were Allison Division, General Motors Corporation; Eli Lilly and Company; and Radio Corporation of America (RCA).

The second capsule was buried in 1991 when a new main lobby, entrance and professional building opened. It contained items such as a pamphlet for those coping with the recent Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; a video cassette with a Community commercial; and a copy of the book The Deming Management Method, required reading for many hospital employees at the time.

Community’s story began 60 years ago when residents on Indianapolis’ east side desired healthcare close to their homes. Financial contributions poured in from businesses and private citizens to fund the idea of a neighborhood hospital, with volunteers conducting house-to-house campaigns.

What evolved into today’s Community Health Network started with the opening of Community Hospital, now Community East, with 300 beds and 111 employees in 1956.

Since that time, Community has grown into a leading not-for-profit health system offering convenient access to expert physicians, advanced treatments and leading-edge technology, with more than 200 sites of care focused on enhancing the health and well-being of residents across Central Indiana.

About Community Health Network
Ranked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana’s leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, health pavilions and doctor’s offices, as well as workplaces, schools and homes. As a non-profit health system with over 200 sites of care and affiliates throughout Central Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, specialty and acute care hospitals, surgery centers, home care services, MedChecks, behavioral health and employer health services. To learn more, visit eCommunity.com or call 800-777-7775.

Photo unavailable
Mark Orders-Woempner
PR/Media Relations Specialist