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Iredell Health System celebrated its 70th anniversary on Wednesday with a ceremony that emphasized the nonprofit’s rich history and continuing commitment to caring for the residents it serves.

Speaking to a group of more than 100 employees gathered on the lawn of Iredell Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, President & CEO John Green opened Wednesday’s ceremony by remembering the four officers killed and four wounded in Charlotte on Monday with a brief moment of silence.

After the remembrance, Green spoke of the impact of Iredell Health System has had on the community for the past seven decades . He also played a recording made from an old 78 disc recording of Iredell Memorial’s first administrator, W.P Walthers, speaking at the opening of the hospital in 1954.

The hospital, which cost $1.3 million, could serve about 100 patients, boasted both private and semi-private rooms, a modern surgery and lab, and labor and delivery departments. Walthers also spoke with pride about the hospital’s latest equipment, new furniture, the embossed china and the delicious, nutritious meals served by the hospital.

Green said the columns and the large oak tree mentioned by Walthers, now “older than all of us,” still grace the main hospital facade and shade the lawn.

With two major additions completed over the years, the expanded hospital now can treat 247 in-patients. Iredell Health System employs around 1,800 people in all of its facilities, with nearly 260 physicians practicing a variety of medical specialties.

Green noted that Iredell Health System has expanded in both size and scope to meet the growing population and healthcare needs of Iredell citizens and those in Alexander and Davie counties.

Growing from a hospital to a health system, the nonprofit now has a second campus in Mooresville, opened in 2021, as well as provider practices, urgent care clinics, surgery centers, a wound care center, corporate wellness clinics, and other treatment facilities in seven towns and cities.

The latest addition, a 5,000-square-foot expansion of the emergency department and an 11,000-square-foot expansion of the critical care unit, is nearing completion, at a cost of $22 million. 

Green noted that Iredell Health System has remained dedicated to its charter, which states the health system’s mission is “to enhance the health and wellbeing of those they serve.”

The hospital, built with public funds, is overseen by a Board of Directors made of up Iredell County citizens. 

After Green’s remarks, four long-time employees, Edith Payne, Lisa Warren, Alan Anderson, Keith Williams, had the honor of raising the American and Iredell Health System flags to commemorate seven decades of healthcare excellence and to look forward to continually improving care in the future.