News
Rudman Rehabilitation Center Dedicated
Attention was centered on Boone 
County Health Center in November with the dedication and open house at the new Rudman Rehabilitation Center. Vic Lee, BCHC administrator, honored Harold and Bessie Rudman with the unveiling of their portrait that will be on display in the new addition.
For Harold and Bessie Rudman, an investment Harold made over 40 years ago will become the largest single private donation made to the Boone County Health Center. “In 1947, I had 2,100 dollars and I bought Kansas Nebraska Gas stock. I hung onto it and sometimes forgot about it until I started working with my local accountant and realized the value of the stock today,” stated Rudman. The stock, which is now part of Kinder Morgan, will yield a 530,000-dollar donation towards the Health Center’s 1.8 million-dollar renovation project of the old Emergency Room, Surgery, Radiology and Laboratory departments. The project, slated to begin in April, will remodel the west end of the Health Center. The existing space will become the new home for the Cardiac Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Departments. The design plans call for these departments to hub off of a new centralized Commons Area supported by dietary services where patient using rehabilitation services can socialize or rest after therapy.
Gift Establishes the Rudman Center for Rehabilitation
Harold, age 87, is a lifelong resident of Boone County and both he and Bessie are pleased to make this significant donation in memory of Harold’s great-grandparents, Robert and Mary (West) Reynoldsen, his grandparents, David and Deborah (Reynoldsen) Rudman and his parents, William A. (Allie) and Sadie (Langshaw) Rudman. All three generations are lifelong residents of Boone County and Harold’s great-grandparents were one of the first homesteaders in the county, moving to the United States from England in 1857 and eventually settling in the Plum Creek area of Boone County in 1873. In an interesting side note, Harold graduated from Albion High School in 1938; during that time he lived in Albion with his grandmother Deborah (Reynoldson) Rudman in what is now the home of Dr. Tony and Carol Kusek.
The gift will establish the Rudman Center for Rehabilitation and will incorporate all three rehabilitation departments. For the Occupational Therapy Department this will be the first time the department is under the same roof and in close proximity to the other therapy departments making it easier and more convenient for patients who are undergoing both physical and occupational therapy to receive services.
Natural Fit
The Rudman gift was “natural fit” for the couple that has donated to previous projects at the Health Center. “The decision wasn’t hard to make, said Harold. Our accountant helped us realize how much would be lost in taxes and we would rather the money stay in the community and be put to good use. It means a lot to us to keep the money here and make sure doctors are always here for the community.” A common thread between Harold and Bessie is returning resources to their community. In addition to the Health Center’s donation, Bessie added that a scholarship fund is being established with the Albion Education Association and their church will also be a beneficiary.