Vacant Winona Memorial Hospital Demolished In Indianapolis

For those of us who worked there for so many years, this is a sad day. Winona never really recovered from the change in government reimbursement — Diagnosis Related Groups, or DRGs as they’re better known.  The days of billing for any and everything, and being reimbursed for whatever was billed stopped in the early eighties.  It was never the same afterwards. We held on for several years, but the census continued to fall.  Someone from the nursing office would post the census on the bulletin board outside the cafeteria, and every employee looked at it when they started their shift.  There was a pall hanging over the place, a sense of impending doom.  People started losing their jobs, and those left behind were sad, but relieved it wasn’t them.  Until there was barely anyone left.  We’ve all scattered to other places and other jobs, but sometimes I remember some of my friends, and wonder where they are and what they’re doing today.  What seemed like a tragedy when my entire department was eliminated turned into a wonderful opportunity for me to go on to more interesting jobs.  I hope all my colleagues have fared as well.