Banner Health System Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 274

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The records of Banner Health System document, through publications primarily, the activities of its predecessor organization, Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society, which became Lutheran Health Systems in 1984. These records were donated to the Institute just prior to the closing of the offices in Fargo of Banner Health System. The records have been organized into nine series: Board of Directors, Annual reports, Reports, Annual meetings, Financial records, History, Publications, “Merger Announcement and Communication Materials,” and Subject files. In addition there are copies of various constitutions and by-laws, a photocopy of the formation document for Lutheran Health Systems in 1984. There is also a small folder of correspondence, primarily from the 1930s and 1940s, of general manager F.R. Knautz. The Board of Directors Series contains meeting agendas, correspondence and some reports developed for the board of directors. There is no meeting minutes in this series or in the collection. This series spans from 1962 to 1973 but is very incomplete. The Annual Reports Series is complete from 1968 to 2000, except 1995 is missing. These formal publications usually include a short report by the executive director, financial report, listing of the board of directors and institutions managed by the society. Each report had a different theme, and the reports for the 1990s became quite extensive publications. The Reports Series contains a number of reports, none of which were formally printed, and usually are carbon copies. They include “annual” reports, financial reports, reports on reorganization, and also three annual reports of the executive director H.M. Malm for 1957 to 1960. The Annual Meetings Series span from 1941 to 2000. The society’s annual meeting was held in various cities, usually in the Great Plains. The program issued for each meeting includes the daily schedule as well as reports from key administrators. Some also include employee service recognition and changes in personnel at various institutions. The Financial Records Series is very fragmentary and includes only two financial reports (1938 and 1974) and two audits (1941 and 1998/1999) for the society. There is also a copy of the offering of Lutheran Health Systems Refunding Revenue Bonds by Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1998. The History Series includes several company produced historical booklets marking its 25th, 40th and 60th anniversaries. Hiram Drache, retired Concordia College history professor, was contracted to research and write a history of the society. A photocopy of his unpublished manuscript is part of this series. It is not known if this copy is the final manuscript or an earlier version, or whether it is complete. Other files include general historical articles, histories, and a chronology of events. A very informative and important letter is that written by F.R. Knautz on November 22, 1937 in which he details his ideas for the establishment of LHHS. The Publications Series is the most extensive series of the collection and has been divided into three subseries: Monographs, Serials, and Brochures, pamphlets, etc. Within each sub-series the publications have been organized alphabetically by title. The Monographs sub-series includes items primarily from the 1980s and 1990s. No doubt many other works were published, but not received as part of this donation. The Serials sub-series is the most complete within this series and contains most, if not all, of the society’s publications from the 1940s to 1990s. Among the major titles published by the society were Lutheran Advocate (1946-1951), Channels (1953-1957), Light of Faith (1962-1981), Update (1984-1988) and The LHS Compass (1990-1998). The periodical Sunshine was actually issued by the Good Samaritan Home at Arthur, a predecessor to the establishment of LHHS. There are only four issues for this title. The Brochures, pamphlets sub-series contains a wide variety of such publications issued by the society on a wide variety of topics. Those related to a specific institution owned by the society have been placed in a separate file. The Merger Announcement and Communication Materials Series consists of copies of documents that were originally kept in a large binder, and that document the merger of Lutheran Health Systems of Fargo and Samaritan Health System of Phoenix, Arizona to form Banner Health System in 1999. Included are official press releases and newspaper clippings as well as briefing papers, fact sheets for employees, pamphlets and brochures. The original organization of the binder has been retained. The Subject Files Series contain a wide variety of documents related primarily to the operation of Lutheran Health Systems. There are biographical files on three of the general managers of the society, Frederick R. Knautz, Harry M. Malm and Steven Orr. There are several personnel listings and personnel policy manuals, various mission statements (1922-1984), posters issued by the society, logos, dedication program for the 1977 home office building, and newspaper clippings. Blanche Jackson instituted a recreation program in the society’s many facilities and documentation on this program is included in the subject files. There is a scrapbook from 1946 that details the capital campaign undertaken by the society to build a hospital at Sheldon, Iowa. The two files concerning Banner Health contain press releases and articles issued by them at the time of the merger.

Dates

1937-2002

Creator

Knautz, Frederick R., 1900-1971. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

The Institute does not hold the copyright to this collection.

History

Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society was founded on January 3, 1938 in Fargo, N.D. Its origins predate to the establishment in 1922 of the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society by Rev. August Hoeger, Rev. W.W.A. Keller and F.J. Koehn. The next year, 1923, they opened the Good Samaritan Home in Arthur, N.D. The organization grew rapidly, adding numerous communities and facilities. By 1937 the Good Samaritan Society was having serious financial problems, with the threat of collapse. On December 6, 1937 Fred Knautz presented a plan of reorganization at the board meeting. His plan called for a new organization with a new name, Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society of America. The society was formally incorporated on January 3, 1938, and the new board assumed operation of only some of the institutions that were being turned over to it by the Good Samaritan Society. Frederick R. Knautz became general manager of the new organization and continued in that capacity until 1968. LHHS began with seven hospitals and nursing homes in North and South Dakota. By 1992 it was operating 206 nursing homes in twenty-six states. On April 30, 1940 the Crippled Children’s School in Fargo became part of LHHS and moved to Jamestown the next year. In 1961, after its offices had been located in various Fargo facilities, the society purchased the former Fargo Chamber of Commerce building in downtown Fargo. They remained here until they built a new headquarters in 1977; the first time all home office employees were under one roof. In 1968 Harry Malm became President upon the retirement of Mr. Knautz. He had worked twenty years for the society prior to assuming the office of president. After his resignation in 1979, Robert A. Anderson was elected president and in 1984 Michael O. Bice was named president and CEO. On October 1, 1984 Lutheran Health Systems (LHS) was created as the new parent organization, giving flexibility to the society’s operation. In 1988 Steven R. Orr assumed leadership of LHS as president and CEO. With the continued expansion of Lutheran Health Systems they broke ground for a new corporate headquarters in Fargo in May 1993 that was constructed in the West Acres Office Park. Talks began with Samaritan Health System of Arizona that resulted in a merger on September 1, 1999 of Lutheran Health Systems and Samaritan to form Banner Health System. Initially two headquarters were maintained with the plan to establish a new corporate headquarters in Colorado. That never materialized and in 2002 the Fargo headquarters was closed and most of the facilities owned by the new Banner Health in North Dakota were sold.

Extent

2.8 Linear Feet (2.8 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Through publications and historical works documents the development of Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society, later called Lutheran Health Systems, before merger to form Banner Health Systems in 1999.