Iola’s public hospital planning was formalized on July 12, 1920, with shares sold at $50 each and a $25,000 capitalization target. Established in the home occupied by recently retired Dr. Johan H. Lee, it opened that fall according to Iola Herald reports. Lee’s practice from 1901 to 1920, located in the Graystone Building, had been assumed by Dr. A.R. Bellerue from 1919 to 1931, who required surgery and recovery accommodations. The Lee home at Church and Washington, now Iola and Chet Krause Dr., continued to satisfy the hospital’s needs when Dr. William Wilker, in 1931, assumed Dr. Bellerue’s practice after practicing from 1929 to 1950. In 1945, ongoing operational difficulties prompted shareholder certificates to be called in and replaced with non-profit membership certificates. A 1950 stone front addition expanded the hospital, and in 1956 a new surgical area and a maternity suite were added. In 1980 a new structure was built. The hospital closed on Oct. 28, 1990, and thereafter operated as a skilled nursing facility until February 1, 2020. Iola’s first medical professional was Dr. I.W. Noves, whose practice commenced in the 1870s. Other prominent early medical practitioners included Drs. George Dale, from 1884 to 1898, and T.E. Loope, from 1898 to 1938. The first Iola Hospital nurse was Nora Ambroson.