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We've Been Working on the Railroad!Main MenuThe Stevens ExpeditionStevens titleThe Northern Pacific Railroad SurveysSurveys titleBuilding the RailroadsBuilding titleWhy come to the United States?migration titleWho worked on the railroads?work titleOrganized labor and the railroadslabor titleRailroad hospitalshospitals titleRailroad-driven immigrationimmigration titleThe Legacy of the Railroadslegacy titlethe Historical Museum at Fort Missoula2ed0a4c76b15fe2d208dedaebb1fcaaa8b4d9c38
Railroad Hospitals
12020-08-03T13:45:20-07:00the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula2ed0a4c76b15fe2d208dedaebb1fcaaa8b4d9c38376444hospitals plain textplain2020-09-08T12:07:48-07:00the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula2ed0a4c76b15fe2d208dedaebb1fcaaa8b4d9c38In response to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, railroad companies to begin offering medical care and insurance to their workers. The underlying reasoning was that workers with access to medical care would be less likely to either strike or sue. Railroad companies pioneered company-sponsored insurance programs and, later, mandatory physical exams for prospective employees. On the east coast, railway companies found it easiest to enter into agreements with existing doctors and hospitals. In the west, however, hospitals were few and far between, and railroad companies preferred to simply build their own.
The Northern Pacific Hospital in Missoula was constructed in 1884 as the second of seven hospitals owned and operated by the Northern Pacific Beneficial Association. The hospital treated railroad workers for injuries and illnesses incurred on the job. The association was not entirely altruistic – in exchange for benefits, workers waived the right to sue the Northern Pacific for work-related injuries.
Despite the obvious self-interest on the part of the Northern Pacific, its hospitals provided medical care for thousands of employees a year. Services ranged from routine checkups and treatments to life-saving surgical procedures. The association also provided a training program for nurses whose graduates went on to work in both NPHA hospitals and other establishments.
In 1967, the Northern Pacific Hospital in Missoula was renamed Missoula General Hospital, a name which it kept until its final closure in 1985.
1media/hospitals_2_img_thumb.jpg2020-08-03T13:11:24-07:00Annual report of the Northern Pacific Benefits Association1Part of the record of cases treated at the Missoula Northern Pacific Hospital in 1906.media/hospitals_2_img.jpgplain2020-08-03T13:11:24-07:00