It was 90 years ago on this morning (1933), Wichita's new United States Veterans Hospital opened its doors to patients.
The facility is located in E. Wichita, east of Kellogg & Oliver.
In 2002, the facility was renamed in honor of former U.S. Senator Robert Joseph Dole of Kansas. As an Army lieutenant, Dole was severely injured by gunfire in World War II. As a senator, he was a staunch advocate for Veterans and those with disabilities.
Diedrich Friedrich Henkensiefken – a service-connected Veteran from Rose, KS – was the first Veteran to enter the Wichita Veterans Administration Hospital on November 16, 1933. The Wichita Herald praised the building’s construction as “the best thought and experience that architects, builders, and hospital experts could devise.”
In the spring of 1931, word came from Washington, D.C., that Wichita had been selected as the site for a new 150-bed veterans hospital. A firm from Chicago contracted to build the new hospital for $513,000, and by the time it opened, it was described as a million-dollar facility.
Ground-breaking occurred in the spring of 1932, and 17 months later, the facility became operational.
VA Wichita health care now serves veterans in 59 counties in Kansas.