THE SPELMAN VISION

     In 1938 our founder Dr. Arch E. Spelman inspired his neighbors to invest in a dream.  Dr. Spelman dreamed of building a sorely needed hospital north of the Missouri River for residents of Clay, Platte, and Clinton counties.  The Great Depression still gripped the land, but people trusted Dr. Spelman’s reputation as a fine physician and surgeon, and responded to his appeal.  Within weeks $11,000 was raised to build a hospital in Smithville, Missouri.  Over the years the hospital grew in size, sustained by that original spirit of philanthropy.  In 1982 all philanthropic efforts on behalf of the hospital were consolidated into the Spelman Medical Foundation.

      Today, at the Spelman Medical Foundation we are asking our friends and neighbors to invest in a bold new dream: to improve health and well-being for everyone in our community with balanced health care choices.  To do this, we join hands with our closest partner and benefactor, Saint Luke’s Northland Hospital, and with our friends - both individuals and institutions - to offer services that nurture medical excellence, add innovative new therapies to our health care menu, and ensure that we serve the total well-being of all residents of the Northland.

To read Dr. Spelman's Light of ideals and visions written at age 19