Altona Hospital is located in Altona, the heart of the Mennonite community of the West Reserve, southern Manitoba. The first hospital in Altona, Bethania Hospital, was organized in 1936 as an independent institution and supported by private contributions from individuals and community groups, coming into being when the Rural Municipality of Rhineland donated for hospital purposes a whole block of land with the large residence thereon. It was soon filled beyond capacity and larger premises were needed. In 1946, under the Dominion-Provincial-Municipal Health Plan, various municipal councils adjoining Altona submitted the matter of erecting a new and larger hospital under the said plan to a vote of the taxpayers residing within the prescribed hospital area, to be paid through tax levies for a 30-year period on debentures. The vote was overwhelmingly affirmative. The new hospital was completed in May 1948 at a total construction cost of $227,500, including remodeling of the old hospital for a Nurses' Home.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 82. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.