Sheltering Arms Hospital (Athens, Ohio)

Sheltering Arms Hospital

Sheltering Arms
Location 17 Clark St., Athens, Ohio
Coordinates 39°20′8″N 82°6′43″W / 39.33556°N 82.11194°W / 39.33556; -82.11194Coordinates: 39°20′8″N 82°6′43″W / 39.33556°N 82.11194°W / 39.33556; -82.11194
Area less than one acre
Built 1911 (1911)
Built by Charles A. Breining
NRHP Reference # 82003542[1]
Added to NRHP June 25, 1982

The Sheltering Arms Hospital, located in Athens, Ohio, started as a two-room home-based maternity ward in 1921 and grew into a medical and surgical facility as the original facility was expanded. In operation at Clark Street from 1921 until 1970, Sheltering Arms moved into a new facility in 1970 named the Charles G. O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, and was renamed the OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital when it became part of OhioHealth (Columbus, OH) in 2014.

History

In the early 1920s, Charles Breinig, a contractor, and his wife Delia used their home as a lying-in facility,[2] where women gave birth and rested for several days. Encouraged by Dr. John E. Rollings Sprague, the Breinigs built a four-room addition in 1921 and became the Sheltering Arms Hospital.[3][4] It was one of the first such facilities in Athens County, Ohio and Sheltering Arms became a magnet for medical care in Athens.[5]

The hospital continued to grow in size and services. Diagnostic x-ray imaging was added in 1924, and a clinical laboratory in 1937.[5] The Breinigs continued to expand and operate the facility until 1947 when they sold it to Dr. Theron H. Morgan. Morgan later donated the facility to the community through The Sheltering Arms Foundation, which was started in 1949. The Foundation became the sole owner of the facility in 1959, after Morgan's death in 1957.[3]

Having outgrown the Clark Street building, local doctors asked the community to build a new facility. Funds were raised, with $1 million of the eventual $1.7 million coming from Charles G. O'Bleness, a local banker. Groundbreaking for the new building, about a half mile away, was in December 1967. It opened in 1970, named the Charles G. O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, O'Bleness having died in 1969.[2][3][6] The hospital is now known as the OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital.[7]

Building

The original Sheltering Arms building is a two-story, irregular shaped brick structure built in 1911, with several additions through 1939.[4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1] The building now provides Senior/Disabled Low Income Subsidized Housing.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 DeWitt, David (December 14, 2009). "Athens hospital had humble start as birthing center". The Athens News. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Stone, Marjorie S. (November 26, 2013). "Sheltering Arms, O'Bleness, Ohio Health". The Athens Messenger. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 Lorrie K. Owen, ed. (1999). "Ohio Historic Places Dictionary, Volume 2". Somerset Publishers, Inc. p. 47.
  5. 1 2 Cordingley, MD, PhD, Gary E. (2005). "History of Medicine in Athens County, Ohio". Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Ohio University Media Services (September 26, 2000). "College of Business Unveils Charles G. O'Bleness Painting and Plaque Recognizing O'Bleness Professors". Ohio University. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Reighard, Angela; Robb, Steve (January 16, 2014). "O'Bleness Health System Joins OhioHealth". WOUB. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sheltering Arms". Silverheels Property Management. Silverheels Property Management. 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
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