Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Founders and supporters of Kosciusko Community Hospital have developed a unique way to say thanks to the many donors over the past 21 years.
The Wall of Honor, located near the KCH lobby, depicts three 7-foot tall trees made of different wood grains that are a striking highlight to passers-by.
The hospital completed a major interior renovation and expansion in the past year and officials wanted to honor supporters of the hospital in a special way.
"We needed to honor those folks who have supported the hospital from day one. And if you didn't do something before long, you'd lose that history," said John Elliott, president of the KCH foundation
Cost of the Wall of Honor was about $12,000 and was paid for by board members of KCH, the KCH Foundation and the KCH executive team.
For the project, KCH turned to Dirilyte, a division of Hand Industries in Warsaw that specializes in manufacturing plaques and awards.
The project was unique in several respects, said Jerry Richardson, spokesman for Dirilyte.
"With the materials that it's made from, it's really unlike anything we've ever seen," Richardson said
It is also likely the largest wooden project ever undertaken by Dirilyte, according to John Hand, vice president of operations. who worked on some of the project.
While most wooden plaques use a metal plate for engraved names, the KCH trees were laser engraved directly on the wood.
To achieve the bark and leaf patterns, the details were hand etched, Richardson said.
The first of three trees is made of an oak grain and dedicated to the KCH Auxiliary original charter members and KCH donors. At the bottom are the names in individual walnuts who helped "plant the seeds" of the hospital.
Those names include doctors George Haymond, Hassein Hoshemi, Thomas Keough, Harold Mason, Arthur Moser, William Parke, Roland Snider and Wymond Wilson.
A second tree, made of cherry, is dedicated to donors who helped establish Home Health Care, Well Child Health Services and the Hospice program.
The third tree, made of walnut, honors donors from 1976 to date. Each tree has 10 large panels containing room for up to about 60 names. Four panels in the third tree remain open for future donors.
"That to me is the most impressive part of that - the broad support of the community," Elliott said.
"There's been just so many people who have supported it. We've got a hospital to be very, very proud of."
Construction cost of the hospital when it opened in 1976 was about $6.4 million.
